Mental causes | Causes of Crohn’s disease

Mental causes

The thesis that the chronic inflammatory bowel diseases Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are also triggered by psychological causes is widespread. For a long time it was assumed that stress and internal conflicts contribute significantly to the development of the disease. In 1950 the two diseases were even included in the catalog of classic psychosomatic diseases (i.e. diseases that are triggered purely by the psyche and for which there is no organic trigger).

But today we know that these assumptions are wrong. The psyche does not contribute to the development of Crohn’s disease. The situation is completely different with the course of the disease, which is clearly influenced by psychological factors. Patients whose mental health is poor, for example because they suffer from depression, have to deal with episodes of illness more often than mentally healthy people.

Nutritional causes

At first glance it seems obvious that an inflammation of the digestive tract has something to do with the eating habits of the person concerned. In fact, the prevalence of Crohn’s disease in industrialized countries suggests that the development of the disease is influenced by lifestyle and thus diet. Studies have shown that chronic inflammatory bowel disease is more common in people whose diet is high in protein from animals (except fish) and milk.

The same applies to polyunsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. In contrast, the consumption of vegetable proteins is associated with a lower risk of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Nevertheless, the importance of nutrition for the development of disease is today regarded as rather secondary. Other causes, such as genes and certain pathogens, seem to have more influence. This topic might also be of interest to you: Nutrition in Crohn’s disease

Genetic causes

The development of Crohn’s disease is probably influenced to a relatively large extent by the genetic make-up of the patient. This explains why first-degree relatives of patients have an approximately 30-fold higher risk of developing Crohn’s disease compared to the rest of the normal population.In fact, over 30 different genes have been discovered to date, the mutation of which is associated with the development of the disease. However, the actual functions of these genes for healthy people are not yet fully understood.

Also the significance of the mutations among themselves is still unclear. It is noticeable that many of these mutations not only increase the probability of chronic inflammatory bowel disease, but also the susceptibility to infections caused by mycobacteria. This in turn supports the thesis that the bacterium “Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis” could also contribute to the development of the disease. What is certain is that Crohn’s disease is not a classic hereditary disease, but a disease of multifactorial origin. This means that the process of disease development takes place under the interaction of genes and factors from the environment (e.g. mycobacteria).