Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and Air Pollution

INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES AND AIR POLLUTION (Abstract). Air pollution is responsible for the increase in mortality, morbidity and a high number of hospitalizations for respir atory and cardio-vascular diseases. Recently, several studies have shown that air pollution can also affect the digestive system. The major impact was observed on inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis).Air pollutants that have the great impact on the digestive system health are: gases, especially ozone, particulate matter and heavy metals like lead, cadmium. Material and Methods: Forty-six articles and one book were evaluated for the purpose of this study. The articles are indexed in international databases, including PubMed, PMC, Scholar Google, and MEDLINE. Results: We present here the current understanding of the mechanisms by which air pollution can affect intestinal tissues. There are three mechanisms that can be taken into consi deration: the direct effect of pollutants on epithelial cells; the alteration of the immune response and the influence of air pollution on the intestinal microbiota. The gene – environment relationship was also discussed in the case of the inflammatory bowel diseases. Conclusions: Up to this moment there are several indicators which show that pollution can have a negative impact on the intestinal tract, but the evidence is limited. The current studies have many limitations and confusion factors that must be measured and corrected so that the specific factors can be correctly evaluated for intestinal diseases. Studies on animals must verify the biologic plausibility of obtained data.