# Zinc intake and risk of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis: a prospective cohort study
Canonical: https://nutritionizm.com/research/10-1093-ije-dyv301/
Last verified: 2026-10-26
Source: International Journal of Epidemiology (2015), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyv301
License: USDA FoodData Central values are public domain (CC0 1.0); Nutritionizm compilation and plain-language text are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (attribution: link to Canonical URL).

## TL;DR

Higher zinc intake is linked to a lower risk of Crohn's disease in women, but it does not appear to change the risk of ulcerative colitis.

## What they did

Researchers tracked 170 776 women over 26 years. The participants filled out food surveys every 4 years to record what they ate. Doctors checked medical records to find new cases of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

## What they found

During the study, researchers found 269 cases of Crohn's disease and 338 cases of ulcerative colitis over 3 317 550 person-years. Daily zinc intake ranged from 9 mg/day in the lowest group to 27 mg/day in the highest group. Women with the highest food zinc intake had a lower risk of Crohn's disease, with a hazard ratio of 0.63 compared to the lowest group. Zinc intake did not change the risk of ulcerative colitis.

## Why it matters

Studies suggest that getting zinc from everyday meals may support gut health. Higher zinc intake is linked to a lower risk of Crohn's disease in women. Choosing foods with zinc may offer different benefits than taking pills.

## Limits

The abstract only looked at women and does not discuss study limits. This is general education, not medical advice.

## Jargon explained

- **Crohn's disease**: A long-term condition that causes swelling and irritation in the digestive tract.
- **Ulcerative colitis**: A long-term disease that causes swelling and sores in the lining of the large intestine.
- **Hazard ratio**: A number comparing how often a health event happens in one group compared to another.

## Full citation

Ashwin N. Ananthakrishnan, Hamed Khalili, Mingyang Song, Leslie M. Higuchi, James M. Richter, Andrew Tan Chan (2015). Zinc intake and risk of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis: a prospective cohort study. *International Journal of Epidemiology*. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyv301