This just caught my interest due to the amount of people posting about
C-diff infections recently.
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www.gastroendonews.com/ViewArticle.aspx?d=In+the+News&d_id=187&i=September+2013&i_id=993&a_id=24036Article below is at the very bottom of the page of the above link.
This study comprised 319 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) treated at a single tertiary care center. Of the patients, 29 had developed Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Investigators conducted genetic analyses to identify possible correlations between 163 gene loci and the risk for developing CDI among patients with UC. Individuals were a median 27 years of age at the time of diagnosis.
Univariate statistical analyses revealed that six genetic loci were associated with an increased risk for CDI, and two loci were linked to a reduced risk for CDI. Individuals with a single high-risk locus had a 20% increased risk for CDI. Having more than one high-risk locus was linked to earlier CDI. The strongest correlations were with the rs864745 (CREB5) locum (OR, 10.9; 95% CI, 1.5-81.7) and rs6667605 (TNFRSF14; OR, 6; 95% CI, 1.4-25.8).
Univariate analyses showed that patients with CDI were younger (mean age, 35 vs. 45 years; P=0.0002), more likely to have pancolitis (69% vs. 51%; P=0.06) and less likely to have received anti–tumor necrosis factor therapy (24% vs. 42%; P=0.06). However, none of these variables were significantly correlated with CDI risk in multivariate analyses controlling for genetic risk factors.
Dr. Longman:
The epidemic of CDI over the past decade has been particularly burdensome in patients with IBD. Although colonic inflammation results in a contraction in microbial diversity and decreased colonization resistance, genetic factors that might enable CDI to take hold in patients with IBD have not been explored.
Using a database compiled at Massachusetts General Hospital, Ananthakrishnan et al identified 29 cases of CDI in a cohort of 319 cases of UC. Notably, the presence of at least one high-risk allele was associated with a 20% increased risk for CDI.
Although this was a small study, the data suggest that host genetics may influence susceptibility to CDI. Larger cohort analyses may identify subgroups of patients that could benefit from prophylaxis.