- Healthy lifestyles, specifically not smoking, a high activity level, and sleeping 7 to 9 hours per night, might decrease the risk of developing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
- Researchers note that as a person’s number of healthy activities increases, the risk of developing IBS decreases.
- Although their study focused on the risk of developing IBS, they say the same concepts may apply to people who already have the condition.
Healthy lifestyles choices, incuding not smoking, a high level of activity, and sleeping 7 to 9 hours per night, are strongly linked with a decreased risk of developing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to a study published today in the journal Gut.
In their study, researchers looked at the medical and diet information of 64,268 people from the UK Biobank with an average age of 55 who completed at least two 24-hour dietary recalls.
The scientists looked at five healthy behaviors:
The researchers analyzed the engagement of the participants with these five behaviors and found:
- 7,604 (nearly 12%) reported engaging in none of the five healthy behaviors.
- 20,662 participants (32%) reported engaging in one of the behaviors.
- 21,904 (34%) reported two healthy behaviors.
- 14,101 (nearly 22%) reported three to five behaviors.
The scientists reported that the higher the number of behaviors a participant engaged in, the lower their risk of developing IBS.
“This study evaluated five independent risk factors for the development of IBS, which we still don’t have accurate etiology or effective treatment options,” said Dr. James Lee, a gastroenterologist with Providence St. Joseph Hospital in California who was not involved in the study. “[The] study was well designed, and statistical analysis was thorough. This seems to be the first study in combining all five risk factors such as smoking, drinking alcohol, sleep quality, [and] exercise as well as proper diet in preventing the development of IBS symptoms in the [United Kingdom].”
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