Table 1.
Summary of studies investigating the association between exercise and the development of inflammatory bowel diseases
| Reference | Study location, type, and methodology | Number of patients | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sonnenburg, 199070 | Germany, cohort, retrospective review of patients with Crohn’s disease in a social security database | 12,014 | Sedentary and less physically demanding occupations associated with a greater risk of IBD than strenuous outdoor occupations |
| Persson et al, 199366 | Sweden, case–control study, information obtained via postal questionnaire | 145 UC, 152 CD, 305 controls | No association with UC onset and exercise CD onset inversely related to weekly and daily exercise onset |
| Bøgglid et al, 199671 | Denmark, cohort study, two cohorts followed for 5 and 10 years for IBD hospital admissions | 2,273,872 followed for 10 years 2,387, 620 followed for 5 years |
Sedentary office work may contribute to IBD onset |
| Klein et al, 199869 | Israel, case control, recently diagnosed IBD patients’ lifestyle patterns compared to matched general population and clinic controls | 55 UC, 33 CD vs controls | Controls had higher physical activity levels than IBD patients in the prediagnosis period |
| Cucino et al, 200172 | USA, cohort study, examined occupations of patients who had deaths attributed to IBD from 1991 to 1996 in a national database | 2419 UC 2399 CD |
IBD mortalities higher in sedentary populations and lower in active occupations |
| Halfvarson et al, 200677 | Sweden, IBD discordant twin population-based study via postal questionnaire | 125 CD 102 UC Controls: discordant twin pairs |
No significant differences in exercise levels between the twins with IBD and those without |
| Chan et al, 201373 | European, cohort, anthropometric measurements of height and weight plus physical activity and total energy intake via questionnaire at time of recruitment comparing patients who developed IBD to matched healthy controls | 300,724 patients | No association between IBD onset and physical activity levels |
| Hlavatey et al, 201368 | Slovakia, case–control study, patients following at an IBD clinic in a tertiary medical center | 148 UC 190 CD 355 controls |
UC associated with <2 weekly sporting activities in childhood (p=0.03) CD associated with <2 weekly sporting activities in childhood (p<0.001) |
| Khalili et al, 201374 | USA, cohort (Nurses Health study I and II) providing data on physical activity from 1984 and 1989 through 2010 and capturing incident cases of CD and UC | 284 CD 363 UC 194, 711 total |
Inverse association between risk of CD and physical activity No association between risk of UC and physical activity |
| Melinder et al, 201575 | Sweden, cohort, men conscripted into the Swedish military from 1969 to 1976 and followed until 2009 and capturing incident cases of CD and UC | 240,984 men | Inverse association of physical fitness with IBD risk; however, results were attenuated when possible markers of prodromal illness were controlled for |
| Ng et al, 201567 | Asia and Australia, case control. ACCESS inception cohort with data from environmental factor questionnaire completed at time of inclusion in the cohort | 256 UC 186 CD (84% Asian ethnicity) 940 controls (83% Asian ethnicity) |
Significant protective association of daily exercise and CD development in Asian patients Significant association between weekly exercise and reduced risk for CD in all patients No significant association between exercise and risk for UC |
Abbreviations: ACCESS, Asia-Pacific Crohn’s and Colitis Epidemiology Study; CD, Crohn’s disease; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; UC, ulcerative colitis.