Crohn's disease and early exposure to domestic refrigeration

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 4; no. 1; p. e4288
• Main Authors: Malekzadeh, Fatemeh, Alberti, Corinne, Nouraei, Mehdi, Vahedi, Homayoon, Zaccaria, Isabelle, Meinzer, Ulrich, Nasseri-Moghaddam, Siavosh, Sotoudehmanesh, Rasoul, Momenzadeh, Sara, Khaleghnejad, Reza, Rashtak, Shahrooz, Olfati, Golrokh, Malekzadeh, Reza, Hugot, Jean-Pierre
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 29.01.2009; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: 20th century; Adult; Age Distribution; Antigens; Bacteria; Case-Control Studies; Children; Crohn Disease - diagnosis; Crohn Disease - epidemiology; Crohn Disease - etiology; Crohn's disease; Crohns disease; Data processing; Disease control; Environmental risk; Exposure; Female; Females; Gastroenterology; Gastroenterology and Hepatology/Inflammatory Bowel Disease; Health aspects; Housing; Humans; Hygiene; Hypotheses; Incidence; Inflammation; Inflammatory bowel disease; Intestine; Iran - epidemiology; Irritable bowel syndrome; Lymphatic system; Male; Medical research; Patients; Public Health and Epidemiology/Epidemiology; Public Health and Epidemiology/Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health; Refrigeration; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Television; Washing machines; Yersinia; Yersinia enterocolitica; Yersinia pseudotuberculosis; Iran; France; North America; Europe
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004288

Environmental risk factors playing a causative role in Crohn's Disease (CD) remain largely unknown. Recently, it has been suggested that refrigerated food could be involved in disease development. We thus conducted a pilot case control study to explore the association of CD with the exposure to domestic refrigeration in childhood. Using a standard questionnaire we interviewed 199 CD cases and 207 age-matched patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as controls. Cases and controls were followed by the same gastroenterologists of tertiary referral clinics in Tehran, Iran. The questionnaire focused on the date of the first acquisition of home refrigerator and freezer. Data were analysed by a multivariate logistic model. The current age was in average 34 years in CD cases and the percentage of females in the case and control groups were respectively 48.3% and 63.7%. Patients were exposed earlier than controls to the refrigerator (X2 = 9.9, df = 3, P = 0.04) and refrigerator exposure at birth was found to be a risk factor for CD (OR = 2.08 (95% CI: 1.01-4.29), P = 0.05). Comparable results were obtained looking for the exposure to freezer at home. Finally, among the other recorded items reflecting the hygiene and comfort at home, we also found personal television, car and washing machine associated with CD. This study supports the opinion that CD is associated with exposure to domestic refrigeration, among other household factors, during childhood.