Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are idiopathic chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract well known to be associated with both genetic and environmental risk factors. Permissive genotypes may manifest into clinical phenotypes under certain environmental influences and these may be best studied from migratory studies. Exploring differences between first and second generation migrants may further highlight the contribution of environmental factors towards the development of IBD. There are few opportunities that have been offered so far. We aim to review the available migration studies on IBD, evaluate the known environmental factors associated with IBD, and explore modern migration patterns to identify new opportunities and candidate migrant groups in IBD migration research. © 2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.

Ulcerative colitis Inflammatory bowel disease Crohn's disease Risk factor Epidemiology Environment Hygiene hypothesis

information processing Australia clinical feature Continental Population Groups human epidemiology Middle East bibliographic database Time Factors geographic distribution morbidity Environment ulcerative colitis Colitis, Ulcerative crohn disease Humans ethnic difference Emigrants and Immigrants environmental factor risk factor Risk Factors Genetic Predisposition to Disease prevalence Incidence Article inflammatory bowel disease heredity Crohn's disease Hygiene hypothesis Gene-Environment Interaction Emigration and Immigration