Higher red meat intake tied to higher risk of UC flare

Higher red meat intake is linked to a higher risk of ulcerative colitis (UC) flare, according to an expert who presented findings from a recent study at AIBD 2023.

UC is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in which the colon becomes inflamed and ulcerated, leading to flare-ups of bloody diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, and fever.

In the study, the highest rate of disease flare was observed among patients with red meat consumption in the highest quartile compared with those in the lowest quartile (odds ratio [OR], 2.60, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.26–5.70). [AIBD 2023, abstract 61]

“This association was not seen for Crohn’s disease (CD) flare (OR, 1.22, 95 percent CI, 0.75–1.98), nor with other dietary items high in saturated fat such as ice cream, pizza, chocolate, cheese, or milk,” said study investigator Dr Adar Zinger from the University of Chicago Medicine IBD Center in Chicago, Illinois, US.

Unlike in UC, the inflammation in CD can occur anywhere between the mouth and the anus.

Digging deeper

Zinger and colleagues assessed data from the IBD Partners study, which included a longitudinal, internet-based cohort of individuals with UC or CD. Information on demographics, IBD history, and nutritional preferences were collected using a 26-item dietary questionnaire, so were changes in disease phenotype after 6 months.

Dietary intake of food items high in saturated fats was categorized into quartiles and compared using chi square test. Clinical remission was defined as <3 for UC on the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index and <150 for CD on the Short CD Activity Index. “IBD flare was defined as disease activity index score above the cutoffs for remission and/or hospitalization for symptoms,” Zinger explained.

Included were 317 patients with UC (median age 44, 65.6 percent women, 86.8 percent White) and 734 with CD (median age 58, 71 precent women, 95.5 percent White. Median disease duration for the UC group was 9 years whereas 13 years for the CD group. More patients with CD than UC were currently on biologics (35.4 percent vs 18 percent).

The median time from baseline to follow-up visit was 6.9 months in both groups.

Disease flare

During the follow-up period, disease flare was noted in 26.8 percent of UC and 20 percent of CD patients.

“High consumption of red meat was associated with a higher risk of UC flare, but not CD flare,” said Zinger. “This association was also absent in other dietary foods rich in saturated fat.”

The results align with a previous study in Europe based upon 595 incident cases of IBD, showing that consumptions of meat and red meat were associated with a risk of UC, but not CD. Other sources of dietary proteins such as fish, eggs, and dairy products were associated with neither UC nor CD risks. Researchers said the study adds further evidence for the association between Western diet and UC risk. [J Crohns Colitis 2022; 16:1187-1196]

Zinger said although previous studies have linked diet and IBD, their study was unique as it attempted to tease out which specific food might be linked to IBD flare.