Why is smoking bad for crohn’s disease?

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that affects the digestive tract. It can cause severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and fatigue, which can significantly decrease patients’ quality of life. Unfortunately, smoking has been known to worsen the symptoms of this chronic condition. In this article, we will explore how smoking affects Crohn’s Disease and why it is crucial to quit.

What exactly is Crohn’s Disease?

Before delving into the effects smoking has on Crohn’s Disease patients let us understand more about what happens in such individuals as they suffer from inflammatory bowel disease.

The Gritty Details of How Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBDs) Develop

The exact etiology or mechanism behind IBDs isn’t evident; however many factors contribute (or not?) towards its development such as genetic susceptibility or environmental triggers like diet/sedentary lifestyle etcetera [1]. Here are three main types of IBD:

  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Indeterminate colitis

These affect various regions like colon region directly affecting superficial layers only in the case of ulcerative colitis whereas penetrating deep into intestinal wall progressively in cases with crohns.

The Symptoms Are Not Funny!

Now let us dive deeper into one subcategory specifically i.e., crohn’s disease outiining some common symptoms which include:
Unexplained weight loss
Diarrhea
Abdominal cramps/pain
Blood present in stool/rectal bleeding/ anal fissure formed due to frequent straining during bowel movements.

Smoking and Its Effect on Intestinal Tissue

Understand Nicotine Addiction

Nicotine must surely pack quite possibly the most harmful device any being could ever have encountered— cigarettes Can anyone call it anything other than an addiction?. It’s no secret that once people start smoking, they become addicted to nicotine and find it challenging to quit.

Smoking leads you down the path of destruction

Smoking is damaging for every organ in your body, with most individuals aware of lung cancer risks; however, Cigarette smokes suppress immune function too! This means that smoking can make Crohn’s Disease symptoms worse by reducing overall immunity to illnesses.

The Impact on Bowel Health

In addition to its potential impacts on immunity, smokers tend to have gastrointestinal tract alterations influenced by various factors like oxidative stress stressful huh, a decrease in key enzymes synthesizing bile acids— also regulation of motility complications: gastric reflux induced acid exposure or poor lower esophageal sphincter tone often preluding such an event [2]. The pathogens found therein are likely associated with environment—that includes consumption of cigarettes may lead problems related T-cell responsiveness adversely affecting disease remission potentially leading towards likelihood bowel strictures etcetera essentially known as colon cancer (which itself increases risk anyway).

How Smoking Affects Medications Used for Treating Crohn’s Disease

Crohn’s is not curable but treatable unfortunate reality ; medications are typically what keep them under control. Using medication correctly works significantly better than its counterparts that lose sleep over constantly consuming wrong medicines: even if one starts using the right drug dependence on sedatives occurs less so often as expected [3].

It has been noted via research studies that cigarette smoking decreases effectiveness seen when used medicine collectively termed biologics specifically TNF-alpha inhibitors used (to block inflammatory reaction processes) One study explains further how among census records 820 patients’ data examined administering either TNF-a antagonist alone or along with other drugs namely azathioprine (AZA) or mercaptopurine(MP). Amazingly participants who were treated concomitantly reduced smoking by 50% experienced far better longer-lasting therapeutic benefits when compared to participants who would have still used cigarettes as opposed to other cessation aids. Be wary of experiencing more side effects from medication because you indulge in this habit or it’s advocated that the negative impact also gets reduced proportionally if smoking stops altogether.

A Study Proving Smoking Worsens Crohn’s Disease

A study conducted consistently over some time revealed startling statistics regarding smoking and its association with affecting Crohn’s disease untreated parameters. This study performed on randomly selected patients dealing with moderate-severe: one group consisted of active smokers whilst the others were non-smokers. After six months, test results showed those that continued smoking had worsened versions of clinical symptoms associated with increased chance surgery development needed due to ileocolonic inflammation leading towards stricture formation being a common complication; which could ultimately lead someone having their colon removed[4].

The same survey concluded how an increase in hospital admissions was directly linked between groups based solely off tobacco usage choice! Seemingly significant regression model noted increase seen nearly doubling (from 26 to 45) odds suffering surgeries associated complications based solely on whether participants actively smoked.

## Final Thoughts
Crohn’s disease is difficult enough without adding another enemy into the mix—smoking detrimental rather self-imposed condition weakening iindividual persistence vital for capable immune system [5]. Though quitting can initially be challenging, the research concludes giving up smoking can bring tremendous relief while currently only posing as additional stressor never good things are added tension not what patients need right now!

References:

  1. Khor B et al.Epidemiology and pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases : Asia Pacific Journalof Gastroenterolgy(2014)
  2. Halpern Z et al.Medical risks associated with cigarette smoke.Br J addict (1990).
  3. Schnitzler F et al.Smoking cessation and response to infliximab in Crohn´s disease .Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics(2009).
  4. Cosnes J et al.Smoking cessation and prevention: An urgent priority for Crohn’sdisease patients. Digestive Diseases 27 (1)-2017.
  5. Mitrev N et al.Cigarette Smoke and Adverse Effects on the Immune System.ResearchGate(2016).

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