Two-Thirds of IBD Patients Partially, Fully Exclude One Food Category

FRIDAY, May 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Approximately two-thirds of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) report the partial or total exclusion of at least one food category, according to a study published online April 20 in the United European Gastroenterology Journal.

Olivier Bonsack, from the University of Lorraine and Nancy University Hospital in France, and colleagues conducted an anonymous survey of 434 patients with IBD to characterize the prevalence of exclusion diets and fasting and to identify associated risk factors.

The researchers found that 36.6 percent of respondents totally excluded at least one food category and 62.4 percent partially excluded at least one food. Just under one-third of patients (30.8 percent) reported intermittent, total, or partial fasting. An exclusion diet was independently associated with disease activity (odds ratio, 1.7) and treatment with a small‐molecule drug or an investigational drug (odds ratio, 4.0). Fasting was associated with a history of stenosis (odds ratio, 2.0) and active disease (odds ratio, 1.9).

“Diet is an important topic for patients with IBD. More than half of the patients with IBD believe that their symptoms are induced or exacerbated by specific foods,” the authors write. “Given the challenges to long-term dietary restriction and potential nutritional deficiencies, a systematic nutritional evaluation is needed to improve the quality of care.”

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.