Smoking increases the risk of Crohn's disease after bowel surgery

Smokers are more likely to have Crohn's disease after intestinal surgery
In general, it should now be known that smoking is not good for your health. For example, smoking is by far the most important risk factor for lung cancer. Researchers now found that smoking also increases the risk of Crohn's disease after bowel surgery.

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, have now discovered in an investigation that smokers at bowel surgery are at an increased risk of developing Crohn's disease. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology".

Crohn's disease is a chronic bowel disease. Often sufferers have to undergo bowel surgery. Researchers found that smokers have an increased chance of relapse after bowel surgery. (Image: DOC RABE Media / fotolia.com)

Study examines 240 subjects over a three-year period
For their new study, the researchers studied 240 patients with Crohn's disease in the United Kingdom. These subjects were medically monitored for bowel surgery for a period of three years, the experts explain. Crohn's disease usually occurs when the body's immune system attacks the lining of the digestive tract and the gut. The disease causes severe inflammation, say the doctors. This can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and loss of appetite.

Frequent relapses after intestinal surgery
As a rule, patients are first treated with medication to suppress their immune system. However, the results of the new study show that more than half of patients with Crohn's disease ultimately require surgery to remove the affected part of the intestine, the authors explain. However, such surgery does not lead to a permanent cure for Crohn's disease and relapses are common. According to researchers from the University of Edinburgh, smokers have a much greater chance of developing Crohn's disease again after surgery.

Helps traditional Chinese medicine in Crohn's disease?
What alternative options exist to treat Crohn's disease? Certainly, medication is widely used. But there are also physicians who rely on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for treatment. TCM in Crohn's disease can help the body re-exercise the immune system.

Some medications are ineffective in non-smokers
Scientists also investigated whether so-called thiopurines (such as purinethol and Purixan) prevent relapse after surgery. This type of medication is often used to treat Crohn's disease. Amazingly, these drugs reduced the risk of Crohn's disease relapse exclusively among smokers, say the scientists. For non-smokers, however, this advantage could not be determined.

New drugs for the treatment of Crohn's disease
The results of the study suggest that smoking patients with Crohn's disease should receive thiopurine immediately after surgery. But there is no evidence that the use of these drugs in non-smokers the same effect, explain the doctors. Scientists recently discovered that there are new treatment options for chronic inflammatory bowel disease. On the one hand, the active ingredient Usteknuman is said to be effective in the treatment of Crohn's disease; a second new approach is based on SMAD7 antisense oligonucleotide.

More detailed medical monitoring for non-smokers needed
Our study confirmed that people with Crohn's disease should not smoke, explains author Professor Jack Satsangi of the University of Edinburgh. This is the best way to prevent relapse. Non-smokers should simply be better monitored after intestinal surgery. In the first year after surgery, accurate medical control is the best course of action. This is more effective than an immediate subsequent drug therapy, explains Professor Satsangi. (As)