Higher Life’s Essential 8 score is associated with reduced risk of related surgery and all-cause mortality among 3232 individuals with inflammatory bowel disease in a longitudinal cohort study

BACKGROUND: Previous studies indicated discrete lifestyle health metrics that benefit cardiovascular health are associated with better prognosis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), while evidence regarding the comprehensive impact of cardiovascular health remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the association between the overall cardiovascular health indicator, Life's Essential 8 (LE8), and the adverse outcomes of IBD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included 3232 IBD participants recruited from the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010. LE8 encompasses 8 metrics, including physical activity, diet, sleep health, nicotine exposure, body mass index, blood glucose, blood lipids, and blood pressure. The adverse outcomes studied in our study included IBD-related surgery and all-cause mortality. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the strength of the associations between LE8 score and IBD-related surgery as well as all-cause mortality were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: Over a mean (standard deviation) follow-up of 12.60 (2.74) years and 13.17 (1.89) years, 282 IBD-related surgery and 259 death events were recorded. Ulcerative colitis (UC) patients with a high LE8 score showed decreased risk of IBD-related surgery (HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.26, 0.87) and all-cause mortality (HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.25, 0.87), in comparison to those with a low LE8 score. No significant associations were observed between LE8 score and the risk of IBD-related surgery and all-cause mortality among Crohn's disease (CD) in the primary analyses. CONCLUSION: Participants with a higher LE8 score showed decreased risk of IBD-related surgery and all-cause mortality among UC, but not CD, underscoring the significance of implementing LE8 as a management approach in improving the prognosis of UC.