Malnutrition often seen in patients treated for inflammatory bowel disease

Some patients seen in an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) clinic screen positive for malnutrition, according to a research letter published online Nov. 20 in Gastro Hep Advances.

Aaron C. Viser, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues used data from a multidisciplinary IBD clinic (June 7 to July 19, 2022) of 237 adult patients with confirmed Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis (UC) presenting for routine, in-person clinical care screened for malnutrition using the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST).

The researchers found that the screening took two to three minutes per patient to administer, with 14 percent screening positive for malnutrition (Crohn disease: 15 percent; UC: 12 percent).

Among IBD patients who screened positive for malnutrition, being a new consult; having a normal body mass index, active disease, and history of smoking; and taking corticosteroid or aminosalicylate medications were more common. The prevalence of a positive screen was higher (28 percent) among patients with active disease and lower (8 percent) among patients in remission.

When adjusting for age and sex, IBD patients with active disease were more likely to screen positive for malnutrition versus those in remission (odds ratio [OR], 4.6; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 2.1 to 10.2). A positive screen was also more likely among former smokers (OR, 2.4; 95 percent CI, 1.0 to 5.7) and current smokers (OR, 2.3; 95 percent CI, 0.4 to 12.3) compared with nonsmokers.

"The validated three-question MST could be easily implemented in routine clinical care in an IBD clinic with the aim to provide same-day dietitian support for patients at risk for malnutrition," the authors write.

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