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Early life events play a crucial role in the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Some evidence suggests the phenomenon of cross-organ sensitization between bladder and colon. Whether urinary tract infection (UTI) during infancy is a risk factor of childhood IBS remains to be elucidated. In this retrospective cohort study, we selected 31 788 infants who had UTI between 2000 and 2011 as a UTI cohort and selected 127 152 infants without UTI as a comparison cohort, matched by age, sex and level of urbanization of living area. Incidence density and HRs with CIs of IBS between UTI and non-UTI cohorts were calculated by the end of 2012. The incidence density of IBS during the study period was 1.52-fold higher in the UTI cohort (95% CI 1.38 to 1.67) compared with the non-UTI cohort (2.05 vs 1.32 per 10 000 person-years). The HR of IBS was slightly higher for boys (1.53; 95% CI 1.34 to 1.73) than for girls (1.50; 95% CI 1.29 to 1.73). The HRs for IBS in children with UTI were greater for those with more UTI-related medical visits/per year (>5 visits, HR 61.3; 95% CI 51.8 to 72.6), with longer length of stay of hospitalization (>7 days, HR 1.75; 95% CI 1.36 to 2.24) and with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) (HR 1.73; 95% CI 1.35 to 2.22) (p

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to systemically investigate the risk of subsequent irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in children with antecedent allergic diseases in a population-based case-control study in Taiwan. METHODS We evaluated 11,242 children (age range: 7-18 years) with IBS and 44,968 age- and sex-matched control subjects who had been examined between 2000 and 2008. IBS odds ratios were calculated for children with antecedent allergic diseases, including allergic conjunctivitis, allergic rhinitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, urticaria, and food allergy. RESULTS Children with antecedent allergic diseases had a greater risk of IBS than did control subjects (P

Background/Aims Recent studies suggest that air pollution may play a role in gastrointestinal disorders. However, the effect of long-term exposure to air pollution on childhood irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is unclear. Hence, we conducted a nationwide cohort study to investigate the association between long-term air pollution exposure and the incidence and risk of IBS in Taiwanese children during 2000-2012. Methods We collected data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, linked to the Taiwan Air Quality-Monitoring Database according to the insurant living area and the air quality-monitoring station locations. Children < 18 years old, identified from January 1st, 2000, were followed-up until IBS diagnosis or December 31st, 2012. The daily average air pollutant concentrations were categorized into 4 quartile-based groups (Q1-Q4). We measured the incidence rate, hazard ratios (HRs), and 95% confidence intervals for IBS stratified by the quartiles of air pollutant concentration. Results A total of 3537 children (1.39%) were diagnosed with IBS within the cohort during the follow-up period. The incidence rate for IBS increased from 0.84 to 1.76, from 0.73 to 1.68, from 0.85 to 1.98, and from 0.52 to 3.22 per 1000 person-years, with increase in the carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, non-methane hydrocarbon, and methane quartile (from Q1 to Q4) exposure concentration, respectively. The adjusted HR for IBS increased with elevated carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, non-methane hydrocarbon, and methane exposure in Q4 to 1.98, 2.14, 2.19, and 5.87, respectively, compared with Q1. Conclusion Long-term ambient air pollutant exposure is an environmental risk factor for childhood IBS.