Linoleic Acid Tied to Ulcerative Colitis

UNITED KINGDOMHigh intakes of linoleic acid may be associated to one-third of ulcerative colitis cases, which can increase the risk of bowel cancer, according to a new study from researchers at the University of East Anglia.

Researchers studied dietary data from food frequency questionnaires from more than 200,000 people aged 30-74 years living in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Italy. Participants were followed up for the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. Each case was matched with four controls and the risk of disease calculated by quartile of intake of linoleic acid adjusted for gender, age, smoking, total energy intake and center. A total of 126 participants developed ulcerative colitis after a median follow up of four years.