Dementia risk increases with Inflammatory bowel disease

It is widely known that there is a link between the gut and the brain.  The gut-brain axis is a system of biochemical signalling between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system.  The vagus nerve is one of the biggest nerves and connects the gut to the brain and is often referred to as our “second brain” much new research into both physical and mental health increasingly involves the mind-gut connection. 

Now a new study from scientists at the University of California San Francisco and Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan of more than 19,000 Taiwanese patients, found those with a gut condition like Inflammatory bowel disease were much more likely to develop dementia, in some cases the risk doubled. The study published in the journal Gut also found (after adjusting for other factors including age and underlying health conditions) that the older adults in the study with chronic inflammation of the digestive tract developed dementia up to 7 years earlier than those without chronic inflammation of the digestive tract.