Where Does IBD Come From?
Even though there have been a ton of scientific studies done in the past few years, researchers haven’t yet found just one cause of IBD. We do know that it can run in families and that you’re more likely to get IBD if you have a brother or sister who has it. Right now, we think IBD is caused by a combination of 3 things: 1. Genetic susceptibility – What this means is that some individuals or ethnic groups may have genes that affect their risk of getting IBD in certain circumstances. 2. Environment – Infections and food are the most common type of environmental triggers we wonder about, but there may be others. 3. Host immune response factors – Abnormal “host immune responses” may make the body react to gut bacteria or other triggers in a weird way. The symptoms they experience come from this ongoing inflammation in the GI tract. Who Gets IBD? In most cases, the person diagnosed with IBD is the first person in their family to ever have IBD. In other patients, a family member may already
