A possible connection between digestive tract dysfunction and disease pathology: Review and recommendations.

Authors

Josh Immitt, University of LynchburgFollow

Specialty

Family Medicine - Primary Care

Advisor

Dr. Elyse Watkins

Abstract

The healthcare system as a whole is largely built on the status quo of intervention over prevention. While intervention certainly has its place, especially for emergent/urgent care, patients without previous access to healthcare, and any number of unavoidable health concerns, it should not be the standard of care for self-imposed pathological processes due to poor lifestyle choices and a lack of public education and awareness. Furthermore, many conditions that we have always seen as unavoidable, such as certain types of cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction ranging from IBD to severe infection processes, behavioral health, hepatic and renal disease and osteoarthritis and other inflammatory processes, may all have a common precipitant. This common precipitant may be an inflammatory response in the digestive system, leading to an abnormal gut microbiome and the development of leaky gut syndrome. Furthermore, what recommendations can us as clinicians make that could prevent or reverse this process with nutrition/diet, antibiotics/probiotics, and/or pharmaceutical agents. The point of this article is to review the evidence surrounding digestive tract dysfunction, the correlations that research has discovered on the possible impact on our health, and how that can influence our clinical practice.

Recommended Citation

Immitt J. A possible connection between digestive tract dysfunction and disease pathology: Review and recommendations.. University of Lynchburg DMSc Doctoral Project Assignment Repository. 2021; 3(2).