Association Between Physical Activity and Inflammatory Bowel Disease in UK Biobank Cohort

293,578 participants from the UK Biobank were analyzed in a prospective cohort study to evaluate the longitudinal relationship between physical activity intensity and the risk of developing Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The dataset, authored by Yitian Wei and last updated in May 2026, contains results from multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models and restricted cubic spline analyses. It suggests a protective effect of higher total physical activity against Crohn's disease and a more nuanced, intensity-dependent relationship with ulcerative colitis.

Use Cases

• Assessing the dose-response relationship between physical activity intensity and IBD risk based on categorized light, moderate, and vigorous levels.
• Modeling the non-linear association between activity levels and disease incidence using the restricted cubic spline curves mentioned.
• Comparing disease progression over time between activity groups using the generated cumulative event curves.
• Investigating subpopulation-specific risks, such as the paradoxical association between excessive light PA and UC risk noted in the results.

Strengths

• Large-scale cohort of 293,578 participants provides substantial statistical power.
• Prospective study design with follow-up period allows for longitudinal analysis of incidence.
• Data linkage to hospital admission and death registry records provides robust endpoint ascertainment.
• Analysis includes multivariable Cox models and non-linear spline curves for detailed association testing.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific modeling tasks.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the UK Biobank source population.

Provenance

Source

UK Biobank

Collection Method

Prospective cohort study analyzing self-reported physical activity and linked health records.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 05:42:18; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United Kingdom