Legume Consumption in Relation to Ulcerative Colitis: A Case-Control Study

Few studies have been done on the association between eating legumes and ulcerative colitis (UC). In order to ascertain whether eating legumes changes the risk of developing UC, this case-control study was conducted.

Three hundred and forty patients with newly diagnosed UC and 782 controls were studied and evaluated using a 168-question food frequency questionnaire. The odds ratios (ORs) and matching 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between eating legumes and the risk of getting UC were calculated using binary logistic regression. Adjustments were made for age, energy, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, meat, grains, dairy, fruit, nuts, vegetables, and body mass index.

After adjusting for every known risk factor associated with UC, when the highest and lowest categories of intake were compared, it was shown that patients who consumed more legumes had a lower odds of having UC (OR = 0.21, 95% CI, 0.12-0.36, P for trend <0.001).

This case-control study found a significant inverse relationship between legume intake and UC risk. Taking a lot of potential covariates into account did not alter this association. More investigations in the framework of prospective cohorts are warranted to confirm these findings.