781 Dietary Practices and Beliefs of Patients With Inactive Ulcerative Colitis: A Prospective Study From the United Kingdom

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: An epidemiological association implicating diet in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) risk or protection is widely accepted and patients often make links to diet. Recent studies have explored dietary habits in the general IBD population but few studies have specifically addressed this in active or inactive disease. 1 We aim to describe the dietary practices of patients with inactive ulcerative colitis (UC) and the information resources which guide these beliefs. METHODS: We developed a questionnaire assessing demographics, dietary beliefs and habits in patients with inactive UC (defined as a PRO2 score ≤ 1 (rectal bleeding sub score = 0)). This is being prospectively administered to 200 consecutive patients with UC. We report an interim analysis of our findings. RESULTS: Data from 47 patients; mean age 53.7 years, 60% male and 89% Caucasian, are available so far. Mean disease duration was 10.6 years. Disease extent was 17% E1, 49% E2 and 30% E3. Mean CRP was 3.5. 68% of patients reported no relapse in the last year. 40% considered diet to be an initiating factor for their UC and this was based on their own experience (95%), a gastroenterologist's advice (26%) and the internet (26%). 49% of patients felt that diet had triggered a relapse of their disease, the most commonly reported triggers being spicy foods (57%), alcohol (39%), fatty foods (30%) and coffee (30%). 64% of patients avoided certain foods to prevent relapse. Spicy and fatty foods were most frequently avoided (70%) followed by alcohol (50%), carbonated drinks (47%), coffee (43%), milk products (37%) and sweet foods (37%). 21% of patients consumed specific foods or nutritional supplements to prevent UC relapse, most commonly turmeric in 40% of these patients. 57% reported being able to find specific dietary advice for UC, most commonly on the internet. CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of patients with inactive UC have strong beliefs pertaining to diet and specific dietary triggers. A high prevalence of dietary restriction may put these patients at risk of nutritional deficiency and impact upon quality of life. More data and mechanistic explanations are needed to understand the complicated relationship between dietary components and gut inflammation. A larger dataset will be presented at conference proceedings.