The consumption of aluminium, the main metal accumulated in our environment over the past century of industrialization, has skyrocketed by 350% since 1960 in industrialized countries. This metal may be a new environmental risk factor for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis..

This first study conducted in animals by Dr Guillaume Pineton de Chambrun at the laboratory "Inserm U995 Inflammatory digestive diseases: pathophysiology and development of therapeutic targets" shows that daily exposure to aluminium, at concentrations frequently found in the environment of industrialized countries, increases the intensity and the duration of intestinal inflammation in mice. It involves multiple mechanisms. Aluminium increases the inflammatory response, weakens the digestive tract, making it more susceptible to bacteria, and prevents healing.

New epidemiologic and environmental studies are currently being performed to determine the influence of aluminium exposure in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.