Skip Navigation


American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on September 18, 2008
American Journal of Epidemiology 2008 168(9):1065-1072; doi:10.1093/aje/kwn218
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
168/9/1065    most recent
kwn218v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Aamodt, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Aamodt, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

American Journal of Epidemiology © The Author 2008. Published by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS

The Association Between Water Supply and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Based on a 1990–1993 Cohort Study in Southeastern Norway

Geir Aamodt, Geir Bukholm, Jørgen Jahnsen, Bjørn Moum, Morten H. Vatn and the IBSEN Study Group

Correspondence to Dr. Geir Aamodt, Department of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Postbox 4404 Nydalen, 0403 Oslo, Norway (e-mail: geir.aamodt{at}fhi.no).

Received for publication April 3, 2008. Accepted for publication June 23, 2008.

Inflammatory bowel disease refers to a group of chronic diseases of unknown etiology related to both genetic and environmental factors. In this 1990–1993 study, the authors investigated associations between the content and quality of drinking water and the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease. They used data from a population-based cohort recruited in southeastern Norway and a registry of water quality derived from Norwegian waterworks that contained measurements of iron, aluminum, acidity (pH), color, turbidity, and coliform bacteria. The authors found that risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, was associated with high iron content. The relative risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease increased by 21% (95% confidence interval: 9, 34) when the iron content in the drinking water increased by 0.1 mg/L. They found no association between the diseases and aluminum in the water, color of the water, and turbidity of the water. The authors suggest that the observations can be explained by 2 mechanisms. First, high iron concentration works as a catalyst for oxidative stress, which will cause inflammation and/or increase the rate of cell mutations. Second, iron content stimulates the growth of bacteria and increases the likelihood of inappropriate immune responses in genetically predisposed individuals.

cohort studies; colitis, ulcerative; Crohn disease; inflammatory bowel diseases; Norway; water supply


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Leukoc. Biol.Home page
H.-R. Jiang, D. S. Gilchrist, J.-F. Popoff, S. E. Jamieson, M. Truscott, J. K. White, and J. M. Blackwell
Influence of Slc11a1 (formerly Nramp1) on DSS-induced colitis in mice
J. Leukoc. Biol., April 1, 2009; 85(4): 703 - 710.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.