P1003 Dietary pattern can influence the level of fatigue in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in remission

Abstract

Abstract Background It is well known that dietary pattern can play an important role in the onset of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In patients with established disease, they can influence the risk of relapse and the disease course. The aim of the study is to explore the impact of dietary patterns on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), fatigue, anxiety and depression in patients with IBD in corticosteroid-free clinical remission. Methods A total of 96 consecutive patients diagnosed with IBD that were in corticosteroid-free remission for at least 12 weeks were enrolled in this observational, cross-sectional study. During an interview, patients were asked about their dietary patterns. Twelve categories of foods were identified, 6 of them being considered "healthy" (vegetables and fruits >4 portions/day, cereals >3 portions/day, seeds >4 portions/week, cheese >1 portion/day, yoghurt >1 portion/day, fish >2 portions/week) and the other 6 "unhealthy" (fatty red meat >1 portion/day, sweetened beverages >1L/day, cured meat >2 portions/day, fried food >1 portion/day, chips >1 portion/day, mayonnaise >1 portion/day) (see Figure 1). An "unhealthy" dietary pattern was considered if the proportion of "unhealthy" food categories from the total food categories consumed by the patient exceeded 50%. HR-QoL, fatigue, anxiety and depression were evaluated using the following self-administered questionnaires: IBDQ-32, FACIT-Fatigue and HADS. Results Out of the 96 patients included, 60 (62.5%) were men. The median patient age was 38 years (IQR 31.5 – 45.5). Sixty patients (62.5%) were diagnosed with CD, and 36 (37.5%) with UC. Most of the patients were treated with biologics (93.8%). An unhealthy dietary pattern was identified in 58 (60.4%) patients. Patients with an "unhealthy" dietary pattern experienced significantly more fatigue compared to patients with a "healthy" dietary pattern (mean FACIT-F score 40.3 vs. 44.4 points, p=0.02). Even though not statistically significant, patients with "unhealthy" dietary pattern had a trend towards a lower HR-QoL (mean IBDQ score 187.3 vs. 192.8, p=0.24). Anxiety and depression were less frequent among patients with "unhealthy" dietary pattern, but the differences were not statistically significant (anxiety: 24.1% vs. 31.6%, p=0.57; depression: 13.8% vs. 21.2%, p=0.51). Conclusion Patients with an "unhealthy" dietary pattern experience significantly higher levels of fatigue compared to patients that are eating "healthier" food. There is also a trend towards lower HR-QoL in this category of patients.