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Dietary fatty acid intakes are related to the risk of ulcerative colitis: a case–control study

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Abstract

Introduction

The role of dietary fatty acids in ulcerative colitis (UC) pathogenesis has been shown in animal models; however, human studies are rare. We hypothesized that there might be a relationship between dietary fatty acid composition and the risk of developing incident UC.

Material and methods

Overall, 62 new cases of UC and 124 healthy age and sex-matched controls were studied. Information on usual diet was measured by a validated country-specific food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Logistic regression analysis adjusting for potential confounding variables was carried out to compare dietary fatty acid intakes between cases and controls.

Results

We found positive associations between dietary intake of total fat (P value for trend <0.01), oleic acid (P value for trend <0.01), saturated fatty acid (SAFA) (P value for trend = 0.02), total polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (P value for trend = 0.04), and trans fat (P value for trend <0.01).

Conclusion

Our results showed that higher consumptions of total fats, oleic acid, SAFAs, total PUFAs, trans fat, MUFAs, and linoleic acid are significantly associated with increased risk for UC; however, no statistically significant associations were detected between the risk of disease and n-3 PUFAs and cholesterol intake.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was supported by the National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute (NNFTRI) of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. We are thankful to all other investigators, staffs, and participants of this study

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest for this study.

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Correspondence to Azita Hekmatdoost.

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Rashvand, S., Somi, M.H., Rashidkhani, B. et al. Dietary fatty acid intakes are related to the risk of ulcerative colitis: a case–control study. Int J Colorectal Dis 30, 1255–1260 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-015-2232-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-015-2232-8

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