ArticleEClinicalMedicine2021
Early life exposures and the risk of inflammatory bowel disease: Systematic review and meta-analyses.
Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 97 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
97 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 144 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of childhood exposure to antibiotics and the subsequent risk of IBD.Inflammatory bowel diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Breastfeeding Duration Is Not Associated With Offspring Inflammatory Bowel Disease Risk in Three Population-Based Birth Cohorts.Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association · 2024Pooled it
- Risk factors for inflammatory bowel disease: an umbrella review.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Pooled it
- Polygenic Risk Scores Show Distinct Genetic Architectures of IBD-Associated Comorbidities.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2026Article
- The exposome and inflammatory bowel disease: a framework for primary and primordial prevention.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2026Review
- Climate classification, sociodemographic development, and the burden of inflammatory bowel disease in tropical countries.Tropical medicine and health · 2026Article
- Modifiable lifestyle factors in early life and inflammatory bowel disease risk in two birth cohorts.Journal of Crohn's & colitis · 2026Article
- Maternal and infant gut microbiome.iMeta · 2026Review
- Diagnostic performance of fecal eosinophil-derived neurotoxin and lipocalin-2 in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.BMC gastroenterology · 2026Article
- Early growth restriction disrupts mice intestinal clock and homeostasis without being prevented by lactoferrin.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Mother-to-offspring microbial vertical transmission: timing, determinants, and impact on offspring susceptibility to gastrointestinal diseases.Medical review (2021) · 2026Review
- Harnessing the microbiome for cancer therapy.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Epidemiology of diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease in Taiwan population from 2011 to 2021: a population-based study.BMC gastroenterology · 2026Article
- Maternal Preconception Antibiotic Exposure Disrupts Microbial Succession: A Transgenerational Risk for Offspring Gut Mucosal Immaturity and Colitis Susceptibility.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Pre-Diagnosis Dietary Pattern Differences in Australian Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Exposure Across Ethnicities.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Bibliometric analysis of reviews of outcomes for adults with a complex perinatal history.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026Article
- Weaning drives microbiome-mediated epigenetic regulation to shape immune memory in mice.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- The epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease: exploring the impacts of environmental factors.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2026Review
- Tobacco Smoke Exposure From Prenatal To Adolescent Periods Drives IBD Pathogenesis: Dynamic DNA Methylation Signatures Across Lifespan Stages.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 10 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEarly life exposures impact immune system development and therefore the risk of immune-mediated diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We systematically reviewed the impact of pre-, peri‑, and postnatal exposures up to the age of five years on subsequent IBD diagnosis.
methodsWe identified case-control and cohort studies reporting on the association between early life environmental factors and Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), or IBD overall. Databases were search from their inception until May 24th, 2019 until July 14th, 2020. We conducted meta-analyses for quantitative review of relevant risk factors that were comparable across studies and qualitative synthesis of the literature for a wide range of early life exposures, including maternal health and exposures during pregnancy, perinatal factors, birth month and related-factors, breastfeeding, hygiene-related factors and social factors, immigration, antibiotics, offspring health, including infections, and passive smoking. PROSPERO registration: CRD42019134980.
findingsPrenatal exposure to antibiotics (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.2-2.5) and tobacco smoke (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.2-1.9), and early life otitis media (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.2-3.6) were associated with IBD. There was a trend towards an association between exposure to antibiotics in infancy and IBD (OR: 1.7, 95% CI 0.97, 2.9), supported by positive data on population-based data. Breastfeeding was protective against IBD. Other early life risk factors had no association with IBD, but data were limited and heterogenous.
interpretationEarly life is an important period of susceptibility for IBD development later in life. Tobacco smoke, infections and antibiotics were associated positively, and breastfeeding was associated negatively with IBD. Our findings offer an opportunity to develop primary prevention strategies.
fundingThis study did not receive any funding.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.