Elizabeth Gentry, Mackenzie Woods, Kelsey Green, Nadia Blessing, Craig Lammert
{"title":"Corticosteroid Exposure in Autoimmune Hepatitis: Early Toxicity, Cumulative Burden and Associations With Long‐Term Patient‐Reported Outcomes","authors":"Elizabeth Gentry, Mackenzie Woods, Kelsey Green, Nadia Blessing, Craig Lammert","doi":"10.1111/apt.71044","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.71044","url":null,"abstract":"Background Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) requires corticosteroid‐based induction therapy, but prolonged exposure is common in practice. Aims This study quantified corticosteroid utilization patterns and associations with adverse outcomes from a patient perspective. Methods A cross‐sectional patient‐reported survey recruited AIHA network members with physician‐confirmed AIH ( <jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 563). Corticosteroid exposure was quantified using annual duration thresholds (≥ 90 days/year at ≥ 5 mg/day prednisone‐equivalent). Early side effects (within 6 months; <jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 491) and long‐term metabolic complications (≥ 2 years disease duration; <jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 385) were assessed using multivariable logistic regression adjusting for age, sex and disease duration. Results Among 563 participants (median age 53 years; 87.4% female), all participants received a corticosteroid at diagnosis (77.6% prednisone; 11.4% budesonide). Side effects within 6 months were near‐universal (96.6%; median 5 symptoms) and greater with predniso(lo)ne than budesonide (5.82 vs. 3.55 symptoms; <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001); 51.2% of predniso(lo)ne‐initiated patients developed a new metabolic condition within 6 months. Long‐term complications affected 75.9% of the chronically exposed cohort, including weight gain > 5% (47.0%), osteoporosis (30.4%) and hypertension (18.1%). Each additional cumulative year of extensive exposure was independently associated with the composite adverse outcome (adjusted OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.02–1.22; <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> = 0.014), osteoporosis, Type 2 diabetes, weight gain and cataracts, with significant dose–response gradients ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> ‐trend ≤ 0.008). Patients with > 5 cumulative years had 4‐fold higher odds of the composite outcome versus patients in the None exposure group (OR 4.21, 95% CI 1.51–11.71). Conclusions Corticosteroid exposure in AIH is associated with dose‐dependent toxicity from the first months of treatment. Reduced induction dosing and budesonide represent potential steroid‐minimization strategies in appropriate patients, warranting prospective evaluation.","PeriodicalId":121,"journal":{"name":"Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149172642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marc Bardou, Myriam Martel, Alan N. Barkun, Nicolas Chapelle
{"title":"Review Article: Socioeconomic and Racial or Ethnic Inequalities Across the Colorectal Cancer Continuum: From Disparities to Action","authors":"Marc Bardou, Myriam Martel, Alan N. Barkun, Nicolas Chapelle","doi":"10.1111/apt.71021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.71021","url":null,"abstract":"Background Socioeconomic and racial or ethnic inequalities affect colorectal cancer (CRC) across the care continuum. Although increasingly documented, whether current interventions effectively reduce these inequalities remains uncertain. Aims To review socioeconomic and racial or ethnic inequalities in CRC incidence, screening and diagnosis, treatment, surveillance and survival and assess interventions designed to reduce them. Methods We conducted a narrative review of adult studies published in English between January 2000 and March 2026. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and ISI Web of Knowledge were searched for studies addressing socioeconomic or racial and ethnic disparities in CRC, using a saturation approach. Results Socioeconomic disadvantage and belonging to some racial or ethnic minority groups were associated with higher CRC incidence within high‐income countries, lower screening participation, later diagnosis, less timely or guideline‐concordant treatment, poorer surveillance and worse survival. In the USA, five‐year survival was 60.6% among Black patients versus 66.7% among White patients, with little improvement in this gap over several decades. Inequalities at successive stages may contribute to cumulative disadvantage. Intervention evidence was markedly uneven across the continuum. Mailed stool‐test outreach and patient navigation increased screening among underserved populations, whereas evidence for interventions specifically reducing inequalities in treatment, surveillance, and broader survivorship was sparse. Conclusions Improving overall CRC prevention and care cannot be assumed to reduce inequalities. The major evidence gap has shifted from documenting disparities towards demonstrating how to reduce them, particularly beyond screening. Equity should become an explicit outcome of CRC research, implementation, healthcare quality assessment and clinical guidelines.","PeriodicalId":121,"journal":{"name":"Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149172641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction to “Incidence of Hepatitis B Virus Reactivation in Patients Treated With Immunosuppressive and Chemotherapeutic Agents”","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/apt.71043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.71043","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":121,"journal":{"name":"Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149172502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anna M Buchner, Joel H Rubenstein, Amnon Sonnenberg
{"title":"Association of Gallstone Disease and Cholecystectomy With Duodenal Polyps and Barrett's Oesophagus.","authors":"Anna M Buchner, Joel H Rubenstein, Amnon Sonnenberg","doi":"10.1111/apt.71048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.71048","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and aim: </strong>We hypothesized that duodenal polyps (DP) and Barrett's oesophagus (BE) coincide in the same patients and that biliary disease, such as cholelithiasis (GS) or cholecystectomy (CCx), increases the risk for both DP and BE. We used a case-control study design to test our hypothesis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using the healthcare records of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), we compared the frequency of GS or CCx in patients with DP or BE with their corresponding frequencies in a control population of patients without DP or BE. Odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using multivariate logistic regression analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The UPHS electronic database from 1/2016 until 3/2026 contained a total of 175,808 unique patients with EGD or colonoscopy, of whom 3632 underwent a CCx, 11,122 had GS, 669 had DP and 4965 had BE. The OR (95% CI) values for the association between BE and DP were 4.64 (3.63-5.86). The OR values for the GS association with DP were 2.23 (1.78-2.76) and for the CCx association with DP 2.26 (1.54-3.20). The OR values for the association between GS and BE were 1.46 (1.32-1.60) and for the CCx association with BE 1.57 (1.33-1.84).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Cholelithiasis and cholecystectomy are associated with an increased risk for duodenal polyps and Barrett's oesophagus. In support of this finding, duodenal polyps and Barrett's oesophagus are also found to coincide in the same patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":121,"journal":{"name":"Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149163912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial: Taking a Different Route–Navigating the Switch From Intravenous to Subcutaneous Vedolizumab","authors":"Ante Kuvačić, Erwin Dreesen","doi":"10.1111/apt.71047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.71047","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":121,"journal":{"name":"Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics","volume":"102 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149151784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Onuma Sattayalertyanyong, Zoann Nugent, Charles N. Bernstein
{"title":"Letter: From End‐Stage Renal Disease Association to Risk‐Stratified Kidney Surveillance in Inflammatory Bowel Disease—Authors' Reply","authors":"Onuma Sattayalertyanyong, Zoann Nugent, Charles N. Bernstein","doi":"10.1111/apt.71050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.71050","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":121,"journal":{"name":"Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149151781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ana Garre, Andrea Nuñez Ortiz, Saioa Rubio, María Teresa Diz-Lois Palomares, Sabino Riestra, Horacio Alonso-Galán, Estela Fernández-Salgado, Rocío Ferreiro-Iglesias, Milagros Vela, Ángel Ponferrada Díaz, Eugenia Sánchez Rodríguez, Vicent Hernández, Lara Arias García, Jesús Barrio, José María Huguet, Daniel Ginard, Montserrat Rivero, Isabel Vera, Inmaculada Alonso-Abreu, José Manuel Benítez, Mariam Aguas, Iago Rodríguez-Lago, Xavier Calvet, Luis Fernández-Salazar, Ana Echarri, María Teresa Arroyo, Mercè Navarro-Llavat, Pablo Vega, Mónica Sierra, Elena Guerra Del Río, Raquel Vicente, María José Casanova, Pablo Navarro, Jone Ortiz de Zarate, Pilar Varela Trastoy, Katerina Spicakova, Ana Gutiérrez, María Dolores Martín-Arranz, Concepción Piñero, Álvaro Hernández-Martínez, Emilio Torrella Cortés, José Miguel Marrero, Rufo H Lorente Poyatos, Lidia Martí Romero, Orencio Bosch, José María Duque, Montserrat Aceituno, Hipólito Fernández, Belén Crespo Suarez, Ana María Fuentes Coronel, Liliana Pozzati, Pilar Robledo, Eva Sesé Abizanda, Belén Herreros Martínez, Nuria Jiménez, Pilar López Serrano, Manuela Josefa Sampedro, Fernando Bermejo, Alfredo J Lucendo, Margarita Muñoz Vicente, Margarita Menacho, José Joaquín Ramírez Palanca, Raquel Camargo, Amalia Carmona, Sandra Torra Alsina, Margalida Calafat, José Luis F Forcelledo, Juan Nerín de la Puerta, Isabel Nicolás, Verónica Opio, Yolanda Ber, Abdel Bouhmidi, Alfredo Abraldes Bechiarelli, Carlos Castaño-Milla, Noelia Cruz, Jordi Gordillo, Amparo Sapiña, Alina López, Silvia Rodríguez Mondéjar, María Teresa Novella Durán, Belén Botella, Marcos Kutz, Lilyan Kolle, Ignacio Marín-Jiménez, Francisco J Martínez-Cerezo, Rebeca Irisarri, Eduardo Iyo, Óscar Roncero, Miriam Sabat, Yolanda Torres Domínguez, Cesar Ledezma, Eva María Zapata, María José Alcalá, Laia Lluis, Cristina Martínez Pascual, Isabel Blázquez Gómez, Luis Hernández, Laura Mata, Ana Monrobel, Alejandro Hernández Camba, Nuria Maroto, María Tejada, María Luisa Galve, María Montealegre, Daniel Hervías, Marta Soler, José Antonio Gómez-Valero, Manuel Barreiro-de Acosta, Pilar Soto Escribano, José Luis Cabriada, Daniel Ceballos, Maria Esteve, Alba García Rodríguez, Vanesa Royo, Fernando Gomollón, Cristina Verdejo Gil, Pilar Nos, Ruth de Francisco, María José García, Carmen Dueñas Sadornil, Cristina Rodríguez, Beatriz Sicilia, Borja M Fernandez-Felix, Javier P Gisbert, María Chaparro
{"title":"Clinical Course and Predictors of Biologic Therapy, Hospitalisation and Surgery: A Five-Year Prospective Study in Newly Diagnosed Inflammatory Bowel Disease.","authors":"Ana Garre, Andrea Nuñez Ortiz, Saioa Rubio, María Teresa Diz-Lois Palomares, Sabino Riestra, Horacio Alonso-Galán, Estela Fernández-Salgado, Rocío Ferreiro-Iglesias, Milagros Vela, Ángel Ponferrada Díaz, Eugenia Sánchez Rodríguez, Vicent Hernández, Lara Arias García, Jesús Barrio, José María Huguet, Daniel Ginard, Montserrat Rivero, Isabel Vera, Inmaculada Alonso-Abreu, José Manuel Benítez, Mariam Aguas, Iago Rodríguez-Lago, Xavier Calvet, Luis Fernández-Salazar, Ana Echarri, María Teresa Arroyo, Mercè Navarro-Llavat, Pablo Vega, Mónica Sierra, Elena Guerra Del Río, Raquel Vicente, María José Casanova, Pablo Navarro, Jone Ortiz de Zarate, Pilar Varela Trastoy, Katerina Spicakova, Ana Gutiérrez, María Dolores Martín-Arranz, Concepción Piñero, Álvaro Hernández-Martínez, Emilio Torrella Cortés, José Miguel Marrero, Rufo H Lorente Poyatos, Lidia Martí Romero, Orencio Bosch, José María Duque, Montserrat Aceituno, Hipólito Fernández, Belén Crespo Suarez, Ana María Fuentes Coronel, Liliana Pozzati, Pilar Robledo, Eva Sesé Abizanda, Belén Herreros Martínez, Nuria Jiménez, Pilar López Serrano, Manuela Josefa Sampedro, Fernando Bermejo, Alfredo J Lucendo, Margarita Muñoz Vicente, Margarita Menacho, José Joaquín Ramírez Palanca, Raquel Camargo, Amalia Carmona, Sandra Torra Alsina, Margalida Calafat, José Luis F Forcelledo, Juan Nerín de la Puerta, Isabel Nicolás, Verónica Opio, Yolanda Ber, Abdel Bouhmidi, Alfredo Abraldes Bechiarelli, Carlos Castaño-Milla, Noelia Cruz, Jordi Gordillo, Amparo Sapiña, Alina López, Silvia Rodríguez Mondéjar, María Teresa Novella Durán, Belén Botella, Marcos Kutz, Lilyan Kolle, Ignacio Marín-Jiménez, Francisco J Martínez-Cerezo, Rebeca Irisarri, Eduardo Iyo, Óscar Roncero, Miriam Sabat, Yolanda Torres Domínguez, Cesar Ledezma, Eva María Zapata, María José Alcalá, Laia Lluis, Cristina Martínez Pascual, Isabel Blázquez Gómez, Luis Hernández, Laura Mata, Ana Monrobel, Alejandro Hernández Camba, Nuria Maroto, María Tejada, María Luisa Galve, María Montealegre, Daniel Hervías, Marta Soler, José Antonio Gómez-Valero, Manuel Barreiro-de Acosta, Pilar Soto Escribano, José Luis Cabriada, Daniel Ceballos, Maria Esteve, Alba García Rodríguez, Vanesa Royo, Fernando Gomollón, Cristina Verdejo Gil, Pilar Nos, Ruth de Francisco, María José García, Carmen Dueñas Sadornil, Cristina Rodríguez, Beatriz Sicilia, Borja M Fernandez-Felix, Javier P Gisbert, María Chaparro","doi":"10.1111/apt.70987","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.70987","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>This study aimed to describe the characteristics of newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients and to analyse their clinical course within the first 5 years after diagnosis, including the need for surgery, hospitalisations and treatments.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This prospective and large multicentre incident cohort registry in Spain enrolled adults diagnosed with Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC) or unclassified IBD (IBD-U) in 2017 and followed them for 5 years.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 3301 patients were enrolled: 1526 with CD, 1633 with UC and 142 with IBD-U. Their median age at diagnosis was 43 years (interquartile range 31-56) and approximately 50% were male. Within 5 years post-diagnosis, 30% received biologics or JAK inhibitors (JAKi), 34% were hospitalised at least once and 9% underwent surgery. The cumulative incidence of biologic/JAKi treatment, hospitalisations and surgeries was higher among CD patients. Use of biologics/JAKi correlated with a more aggressive CD phenotype, greater UC extent and younger age at diagnosis. Biologics/JAKi treatment was associated with lower hospitalisation risk in both CD (Hazard ratio [HR] = 0.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.2-0.6) and UC patients (HR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.2-0.9). However, it was not associated with the risk of abdominal surgery in CD but was linked to an increased risk of surgery in UC (HR = 11.9, 95% CI = 4.6-30.4).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This large multicentre cohort demonstrated a higher use of biologics/JAKi during the first 5 years after IBD diagnosis than previously reported. Treatment with biologics/JAKi was associated with reduced risk of hospitalisation. However, under current clinical practice patterns, this therapeutic approach did not translate into lower risk of abdominal surgery.</p>","PeriodicalId":121,"journal":{"name":"Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149163447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Francesca Ligori Malcolm, Colin J. Crooks, Joe West, Manpreet Bains, Elliann Fairbairn, Jeff Turner, Benjamin Hughes, Lynnette Jones, David J. Humes
{"title":"Population‐Based Cohort Study: Colorectal Cancer Risk Stratification in Symptomatic Patients Using the Faecal Immunochemical Test, Blood Results and Patient Characteristics in Wales","authors":"Francesca Ligori Malcolm, Colin J. Crooks, Joe West, Manpreet Bains, Elliann Fairbairn, Jeff Turner, Benjamin Hughes, Lynnette Jones, David J. Humes","doi":"10.1111/apt.71028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.71028","url":null,"abstract":"Background Wales has the highest rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the UK. National guidelines recommend using the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) in patients presenting with symptoms of bowel cancer. FIT ≥ 10 μgHb/g in symptomatic patients is presumed to indicate a > 3% risk of CRC. However, evidence from England and Scotland has found that the risk is lower in certain demographic groups. Aims To examine 1‐year risk of CRC in Welsh patients with symptoms of suspected bowel cancer by demographics, iron deficiency anaemia (IDA), and FIT. Methods Cohort study of adults registered in the Welsh Longitudinal General Practice dataset with a FIT recorded from 01/01/2020–31/03/2024. Kaplan–Meier estimates were used to calculate 1‐year cumulative risks of CRC. Results We included 166,863 patients with a FIT; 19.2% had a FIT ≥ 10 μgHb/g. Within 1 year, 2864 (1.72%) were diagnosed with CRC; 90.2% of which were following FIT ≥ 10μgHb/g. A FIT cut‐off of ≥ 10 μgHb/g in isolation identified a > 3% risk of CRC across all age groups. In those with FIT ≥ 10μgHb/g, IDA resulted in an increase in predicted risk across all age groups. IDA aided stratification further in women < 50 years; risk of CRC was 6.45% (95% CI: 3.52–9.29) with a FIT ≥ 10 μgHb/g and IDA compared to 2.20% (95% CI: 1.57–2.83) without IDA. Conclusions In Wales, the risk of CRC following FIT ≥ 10 μgHb/g is higher than observed in English and Scottish cohorts. Stratification by demographics and blood results identified those at highest risk, but this did not fully explain the higher baseline risk observed in comparison to other UK nations.","PeriodicalId":121,"journal":{"name":"Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149140457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Letter: Interpreting Faecal SCFA Enrichment in IBS-D—Metabolic Signal or Transit-Related Marker?","authors":"Longying Zhang, Lifen Zhao, Lina Liu","doi":"10.1111/apt.70717","DOIUrl":"10.1111/apt.70717","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We read with great interest the study by Conley et al. [<span>1</span>], which identified a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-enriched faecal metabotype in patients with moderate-to-severe diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D). The study is valuable because it moves beyond symptom-based classification and integrates faecal volatile organic compounds, metagenomic data, clinical symptom scores and whole-gut transit time. The finding that approximately one-third of patients exhibited an SCFA-enriched profile associated with abdominal pain, urgency, stool frequency and faster transit provides an important step towards biologically informed stratification of IBS-D.</p><p>However, one issue that deserves further consideration is that faecal SCFA enrichment does not necessarily indicate increased microbial SCFA production. Faecal SCFA abundance is shaped by microbial fermentation, epithelial absorption, stool water content and intestinal transit [<span>2</span>]. Because the SCFA-enriched group also had faster whole-gut transit, higher faecal SCFA levels may partly reflect reduced absorptive opportunity or altered dilution rather than enhanced production. Future studies could strengthen this interpretation by incorporating absolute SCFA quantification, stool water correction, segmental transit assessment and host absorption markers such as epithelial SCFA transporter expression.</p><p>Second, the SCFA-enriched metabotype may represent a rapid-transit diarrhoeal kinetic phenotype rather than an independent severe IBS-D subtype. Pain, urgency, loose stools, stool frequency and accelerated transit are closely interrelated in IBS-D [<span>3</span>]. Therefore, the observed association between SCFA enrichment and symptom severity may be partly mediated by transit dynamics [<span>4</span>]. Multivariable modelling, mediation analysis or structural equation modelling could help determine whether SCFA enrichment remains independently associated with pain or IBS severity after adjustment for whole-gut transit time, stool form and stool frequency.</p><p>Third, the comparator group labelled as the ‘Other’ metabotype may not be biologically homogeneous. It included diverse metabolites such as ketones, aldehydes, terpenes, organosulphur compounds, indole and phenols, whereas the non-negative matrix factorisation analysis further suggested at least two non-SCFA signatures [<span>5</span>]. Combining these distinct metabolic states into one reference group may obscure clinically relevant heterogeneity and exaggerate the contrast with the SCFA-enriched group [<span>6</span>]. Future research may benefit from multidimensional metabolic phenotyping rather than a binary SCFA versus non-SCFA framework.</p><p>In conclusion, this study provides an important foundation for metabolic stratification in IBS-D. Clarifying whether faecal SCFA enrichment reflects production, absorption, transit or their interaction will be essential before this metabotype can be tra","PeriodicalId":121,"journal":{"name":"Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics","volume":"64 9","pages":"1316-1317"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/apt.70717","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147831365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}