People who are left-handed are twice as likely to suffer from bowel disease than right-handers are, claim scientists. A study of more than 20,000 people in the UK found that the risk of inflammatory bowel disease, usually Crohn’s disease or Ulcerative Colitis, was double in left-handed people. Although the prevalence of left-handedness in the general population is around one in ten, 21% of the people found to have inflammatory bowel disease were left-handed. The research, done by a team at the Royal Free Hospital and University College in London, comes after earlier studies showed left-handers are at increased risk of other conditions such as Asthma and Diabetes. “The reasons are uncertain and speculative,” making it a shoe-in for a Health Mystery!
