P325. Dietary beliefs and behaviors among inflammatory bowel disease patients
C. Zallot1, D. Quilliot2, J.‑L. Guéant1, M.‑A. Bigard1, L. Peyrin-Biroulet1
1University Hospital of Nancy, Université Henri Poincaré 1, Inserm U954 and Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France; 2CHU de Nancy, Service de Diabétologie, Maladies Métaboliques et Nutrition, Nancy, France
Background: We investigated dietary beliefs and behaviors in a large population of adult inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients and evaluated their impact on patients' social life.
Methods: A questionnaire of 14 items was developed by Departments of Gastroenterology and of Diabetes and Nutrition of the Nancy University Medical Center and administered to all consecutive patients followed for IBD at Nancy University Hospital Department of Gastroenterology from February to July 2011.
Results: A total of 244 patients participated in the survey. 15.6% (n = 38) of patients believed that diet could initiate the disease, while 57.8% (n = 141) believed that food can play a role in causing a relapse. Forty per cent (107/244) of patients identified food as a risk factor for relapse. Seventy-three per cent of respondents reported having already received nutritional advice. The majority of respondents (47.5%, n = 11) reported that the disease had changed the pleasure from eating. Only one quarter of patients had a normally diet in case of relapse. Almost 2 out of 3 patients (66.8%, n = 163) reported not eating certain foods they usually like to eat in order to avoid a relapse. Dietary beliefs and behaviour had an impact on their social life for one-fifth of patients.
Conclusions: The majority of IBD patients are avoiding certain food. Dietary beliefs and behaviors have a strong impact on their social life. Appropriate diet counselling aimed to inform IBD patients about causes and consequences of their dietary beliefs and behaviours is needed in most of them.