Background: There has been a nearly 50% increase in the prevalence of inflammatory gastrointestinal disorders (IGD) in recent years, largely driven by poor diet and lifestyle factors. However, limited research has evaluated the impact of water quality, access to fresh food, and food insecurity on IGD. This study assessed whether these factors influence the prevalence of IGD in the United States.
Methods:: 398 articles from PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Google Scholar were used for lexical searches; Undermind, OpenEvidence, Consensus AI were used as semantic search tools. Titles and abstracts were screened by two authors to ensure inclusion and exclusion criteria were met. Articles were included if they addressed IGD (e.g. IBD or gastroenteritis), explored at least one of the three metrics hypothesized, and examined the U.S. population. The exclusion criteria were non-inflammatory, unspecified gastrointestinal disorders, and non-human studies. 22 studies met these criteria.
Results:: Only one study examined possible environmental influences on IBD rates, suggesting that IBDs are impacted by broader environmental factors, including diet and infection. Infection was identified as a prevalent factor contributing to acute gastroenteritis. The remaining 21 articles suggested an association between poor water quality and increased rates of acute IGDs, particularly acute gastroenteritis. Foodborne contamination, specifically from Norovirus, was a frequent source of acute gastroenteritis. These results demonstrate that areas with limited access to clean water or less strict drinking water laws may be at increased risk for developing acute gastroenteritis. Further targeted research is needed to examine the question proposed in this review.
Methods:: 398 articles from PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Google Scholar were used for lexical searches; Undermind, OpenEvidence, Consensus AI were used as semantic search tools. Titles and abstracts were screened by two authors to ensure inclusion and exclusion criteria were met. Articles were included if they addressed IGD (e.g. IBD or gastroenteritis), explored at least one of the three metrics hypothesized, and examined the U.S. population. The exclusion criteria were non-inflammatory, unspecified gastrointestinal disorders, and non-human studies. 22 studies met these criteria.
Results:: Only one study examined possible environmental influences on IBD rates, suggesting that IBDs are impacted by broader environmental factors, including diet and infection. Infection was identified as a prevalent factor contributing to acute gastroenteritis. The remaining 21 articles suggested an association between poor water quality and increased rates of acute IGDs, particularly acute gastroenteritis. Foodborne contamination, specifically from Norovirus, was a frequent source of acute gastroenteritis. These results demonstrate that areas with limited access to clean water or less strict drinking water laws may be at increased risk for developing acute gastroenteritis. Further targeted research is needed to examine the question proposed in this review.