Date of Award

Summer 2021

Document Type

Term Paper

College

College of Natural and Health Sciences

Primary Advisor

Dr. Laurie Pomella

Abstract

The Crohn’s and Colitis foundation of America estimates that 70,000 Americans are diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) each year (2021). Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by periods of remission and exacerbation triggered by an increase in stress (Mackner et al., 2020). Patients can experience debilitating abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, blood in the stool, and reduced appetite during an exacerbation period, all of which can lead to life-threatening complications (Mayo Clinic, 2020). In most cases, patients are diagnosed in their late teens or early adulthood years, and are prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs (Mayo Clinic, 2020). As there is no true cure for Crohn's disease, medications are never guaranteed to work and patients are often forced to undergo many therapies before finding the right regimen for their condition. Currently, in hospitals, there has not been any added intervention with daily supplements for these patients to assist in treating the inflammation. In controlled clinical trials, omega-3 fatty acid supplements have statistically shown promise as an anti-inflammatory agent to aid in Crohn's disease treatment (Natto et al., 2019).

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