Lifestyle Link between Human Crohn's Disease And Cat IBD

Is there a lifestyle link between the soaring numbers of young people treated with Crohn's disease in the UK and the increase in feline inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the USA?

The causes of both feline IBD and human Crohn's disease are not completely understood.  One of the causes of feline IBD is thought to be the constituent ingredients in commercial cat food which triggers an immune response in the intestinal which is unnecessary and which aggravates the intestinal tract.  An alternative viewpoint is that an excess of bad bacteria in the gut causes the problem.  Both could be involved.  There is quite possibly, though a link between feline IBD and commercial cat food and antibiotics because antibiotics kill good bacteria and upset gut flora.

As for human Crohn's disease the condition attacks the intestines and is thought to be triggered by problems with the immune system.  Sally Mitton, a consultant gastroenterologist at St Georges Hospital in south-west London says:

“Definitely, if you have a lot of junk food before your diagnosis it actually makes it more likely that you will develop Crohn's disease."

She also says that she has noticed that people who have had lots of antibiotics in their youth are more likely to develop this condition.

You can see, therefore, that there is a connection between Crohn's disease and both the bacterial content of the gut and the immune system.  As mentioned antibiotics can kill the good bacteria in the gut leaving an excess of bad bacteria and we already know that GPs in the UK prescribe too many antibiotics.  This situation more or less mirrors the situation that causes feline IBD.

Both are underpinned by both poor quality food and antibiotics.  We know that the prescribing of antibiotics for cats by veterinarians can on occasions be excessive.

There is one final aspect to both these diseases and that is the development of a child's immune system being inhibited because they are exposed less nowadays to germs.  Once again, this mirrors the argument by some people that the domestic cat is gradually becoming less exposed to a natural way of life and therefore germs.

I therefore conclude that there is a lifestyle link between human Crohn's disease and feline inflammatory bowel disease.

As people in the UK tend to follow the lifestyle of American citizens - viz junk food and obesity - there is also connection between the US and UK.