A retrospective, case-control study on traditional environmental risk factors in inflammatory bowel disease in Vukovar-Srijem County, north-eastern Croatia, 2010

Background Traditional environmental risk factors in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), were examined as part of the retrospective epidemiologic study conducted in Vukovar-Srijem County, north-eastern Croatia in 2010. The geographical variations in the frequency of IBD in Croatia have been observed, which is also the trend in the Central Eastern European region and Europe as a whole, indicating the influence of environmental and lifestyle factors. However, the data on the spread of environmental IBD risk factors are still limited. The purpose of this study was to analyse the traditional environmental risk factors in IBD on our cohort sample, including measles virus infection and vaccination (MMR vaccine—Mumps, Measles, Rubella), tonsillectomy, appendectomy, current and former cigarette smoking and use of oral contraceptives in women.