Overweight and obesity in patients with ulcerative colitis: prevalence and associations

Abstract

The disorder of immunoregulation and activation of the immune response in relation to antigens of the intestinal microfl ora in genetically predisposed individuals under the infl uence of certain environmental factors is currently considered as the main theory of the infl ammatory bowel diseases pathogenesis. The morbidity and prevalence of ulcerative colitis (UC) is increasing simultaneously with the obesity pandemic. In recent years, information has appeared on the epidemiological interaction of predisposing factors for obesity and UC. Study objective is to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in patients with UC in the Western Siberian region before the fi rst symptoms of the disease and during treatment, as well as to assess the body mass index (BMI) in patients with UC depending on gender, lesion length, severity, duration of the disease and biologic therapy. Materials and methods : a case-control study was conducted with 127 patients having UC and 63 healthy ones, comparable by sex and age. BMI was calculated by the formula: mass (kg)/weight (m²). Results : overweight and/or obesity were noted before the onset of the fi rst symptoms of the disease in 58% of patients with UC of the Western Siberian region. Moreover, a statistically signifi cant predominance of overweight and obesity was observed in men. Dynamic monitoring of patients with UC revealed a lower BMI in patients with total lesion, severe course of the disease, and also against the background of a long-term disease. Biologic therapy helps to increase the BMI.