Disease Origin – Cause of Ulcerative Colitis
The specific cause of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), including ulcerative colitis (UC), remains unknown, but it is understood to have a multifactorial origin, meaning several factors work together to trigger the disease.
Cause of Ulcerative Colitis
Nothing you did caused or could have prevented UC
For most people, it results from several risk factors coming together rather than one single cause.
Ulcerative Colitis Risk Factors
Genetic Factors
More than 200 genes are linked to the development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), like ulcerative colitis.
Having a parent or sibling who has IBD increases your risk.
Very rarely, a single gene change causes the disease on its own. This mostly happens in children who develop IBD before about age 6, and doctors may offer a genetic test in those cases.
Environmental and Lifestyle Factors
Imbalance in the gut bacteria, exposure to certain factors, or lack of exposure.
- Hygiene practices
- Antibiotic use
- Recurrent gastrointestinal infections
- Diet and food choices
- Breastfeeding
Having a higher socioeconomic background has also been linked to IBDs.
What Happens When You Develop UC?
In ulcerative colitis, your immune system, which typically fights off harmful infections, mistakenly attacks your own cells. There are different theories about why this happens.
Mistaken identity
Immune system cells misinterpret good gut bacteria as harmful and attack them.
The immune system doesn’t “turn off”
After an immune response to a viral or bacterial infection, the immune system doesn’t turn off and continues attacking healthy tissues, even after the infection has gone.