As discussed in my early post (#148), to my knowledge, multiple studies back to 1980s found increased intake of refined sugar in patients with Crohn’s disease (here are some of the studies). However, the enthusiasm receded when some controlled trials failed to show a benefic with the restricted use of sugar (Ritchie JK, et al. Controlled multicentre therapeutic trial of an unrefined carbohydrate, fibre rich diet in Crohn's disease. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1987 Aug 29;295(6597):517-20), especially the poor correlation between the Crohn’s disease and refined sugar consumption (Sonnenberg A. Geographic and temporal variations of sugar and margarine consumption in relation to Crohn's disease. Digestion. 1988;41(3):161-71 ). I suspected that this increased risk in IBD may relate to increased intake of artificial sweeteners rather than refined sugar. As patients with diabetes may have increased intake of sweeteners, I have tried to find if there is a link between diabetes and IBD. I indeed found some studies such as those showing an increased prevalence of diabetes in patients with ulcerative colitis (Kappelman MD, et al. Association of paediatric inflammatory bowel disease with other immune-mediated diseases. Arch Dis Child. 2011 Nov;96(11):1042-6) and a positive association between type 1 diabetes and Crohn’s disease in families (Sipetić S, et al. Family history and risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Acta Diabetol. 2002 Sep;39(3):111-5). I have not seen a study showing a reverse relationship between diabetes and CD, and would be happy to see the data you have.
