IBD’s link to dementia

People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are more than twice as likely to develop dementia than those without.

That’s the conclusion of a new study that also suggests adults with IBD, a group of chronic conditions including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, are on average diagnosed with dementia seven years earlier than people who don’t have the digestive disorder. This is the latest piece of research linking changes in the gut to issues with the brain, reports TheGuardian.com. Previous studies have noted links between gut bacteria, known as the microbiome, and mental health issues, ALS, and Parkinson’s disease. The new study, which examined the medical records of 1,742 Taiwanese people ages 45 and up with IBD, found that 5.5 percent went on to develop dementia, compared with 1.4 percent of a control group. The researchers say one possible explanation is that chronic inflammation, which may trigger processes involved in Alzheimer’s, could be connected to disruptions in the microbiome.