Conclusions: Silica dust exposure correlates with an increased risk of developing UC, especially in men, and the risk seems to increase with the duration and degree of exposure. Conversely, silica dust exposure correlates positively with the risk of developing CD in women.
Strengths and limitations of this study
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This case–control study includes anyone who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis in Sweden in the years 2007–2016, and not just a selection.
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Sweden maintains high-quality registers that cover the entire population, together with unique personal identification numbers that can link patient data across different nationwide registers.
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The diagnoses were based on the data recorded in the national non-primary outpatient visits register, which is significantly more accurate than diagnoses based on questionnaires.
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This study lacks information on potential confounders such as smoking habits; however, cases and controls are matched based on age, sex and geographical area and therefore one could assume the distribution of these confounders among the cases and controls.