Multiple studies have shown that there is a gut-brain link where one affects the others. Just think about how your gut feels when you are nervous. One such phenomenon also occurs in the case of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a disease also with a genetic link. What does the mind have on IBD and what affect does IBD have on the mind?
A new study from the University of Southern California, headed by Bing Zhang, looks to explore the link.
For this study, Zhang and colleagues analyzed data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database of nearly 20 million people. They tracked patients with either IBD or depression and their siblings without either condition, looking at onset of depression or IBD in those without either conditions.
They found that patients with IBD were nine-times as likely to develop depression compared to the general population. Also, siblings without IBD were almost twice as likely to develop depression.
In addition, those with depression were almost twice as likely to develop IBD, while their siblings without depression were more than one and half times as likely to develop IBD.
The researchers hypothesized the bidirectional nature of this phenomenon was caused by a multitude of factors especially that of environment, gut microbiome, and genetics.
However, researchers are unsure as to why siblings of people with depression were more likely to be diagnosed with IBD.
While we cannot change our genetics, it is very important that we monitor what we allow to come in and out of our minds and our thoughts because that is something we can control, as it can have physical repercussions on the body. However, their findings may better help us address both of these issues in a more holistic and meaningful, sustainable way.
The study was published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Bing Zhang et al. Bidirectional association between inflammatory bowel disease and depression among patients and their unaffected siblings. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. DOI: 10.1111/jgh.15855
