Healthy Lifestyle in Early Childhood Linked to Lower Risk for IBD

FRIDAY, Aug. 28, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- A healthy lifestyle in early childhood is associated with a reduced risk for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Journal of Crohn's and Colitis.Annie Guo, from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and colleagues examined the association between early-life adherence to a healthy lifestyle and later IBD risk. The analysis included 117,487 participants identified from two Scandinavian birth cohorts (1997 to 2009), and incorporated data on smoking exposure, delivery mode, breastfeeding, diet quality, antibiotic use, physical activity, and body mass index.The researchers found that by a mean age of 20 years, 0.6 percent of participants were diagnosed with IBD (732 individuals). Children who had a high Modifiable Health-related Lifestyle Score (MHLS) by age 1 year had a lower risk for later IBD (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.77), particularly Crohn disease (aHR, 0.57). The Optimal Risk Score showed similar results to MHLS by age 1 year and showed that high adherence to a healthy lifestyle by age 3 years was associated with a reduced risk for IBD (aHR, 0.77) and Crohn disease (aHR, 0.68). There was no association with ulcerative colitis. For childhood-onset IBD, results were similar."A healthy lifestyle in early childhood was associated with a reduced risk of IBD, particularly Crohn's disease, suggesting that early lifestyle modifications may help prevent the disease," the authors write.One author disclosed ties to Pfizer.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Healthy Lifestyle in Early Childhood Linked to Lower Risk for IBD

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