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BMC Gastroenterology
Published in: BMC Gastroenterology 1/2012

Open Access 01-12-2012 | Research article

The relationship between urban environment and the inflammatory bowel diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Authors: Ing Shian Soon, Natalie A Molodecky, Doreen M Rabi, William A Ghali, Herman W Barkema, Gilaad G Kaplan

Published in: BMC Gastroenterology | Issue 1/2012

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Abstract

Background

The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis of studies assessing the association between living in an urban environment and the development of the Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC).

Methods

A systematic literature search of MEDLINE (1950-Oct. 2009) and EMBASE (1980-Oct. 2009) was conducted to identify studies investigating the relationship between urban environment and IBD. Cohort and case–control studies were analyzed using incidence rate ratio (IRR) or odds ratio (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs), respectively. Stratified and sensitivity analyses were performed to explore heterogeneity between studies and assess effects of study quality.

Results

The search strategy retrieved 6940 unique citations and 40 studies were selected for inclusion. Of these, 25 investigated the relationship between urban environment and UC and 30 investigated this relationship with CD. Included in our analysis were 7 case–control UC studies, 9 case–control CD studies, 18 cohort UC studies and 21 cohort CD studies. Based on a random effects model, the pooled IRRs for urban compared to rural environment for UC and CD studies were 1.17 (1.03, 1.32) and 1.42 (1.26, 1.60), respectively. These associations persisted across multiple stratified and sensitivity analyses exploring clinical and study quality factors. Heterogeneity was observed in the cohort studies for both UC and CD, whereas statistically significant heterogeneity was not observed for the case–control studies.

Conclusions

A positive association between urban environment and both CD and UC was found. Heterogeneity may be explained by differences in study design and quality factors.
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Metadata
Title
The relationship between urban environment and the inflammatory bowel diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors
Ing Shian Soon
Natalie A Molodecky
Doreen M Rabi
William A Ghali
Herman W Barkema
Gilaad G Kaplan
Publication date
01-12-2012
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Gastroenterology / Issue 1/2012
Electronic ISSN: 1471-230X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-230X-12-51

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