Patients With UC Believe Diet Plays Large Role in Relapse

Patients with inactive ulcerative colitis believe dietary practices can trigger relapse and display practices to avoid perceived triggers, such as food avoidance, new research shows.

However, food avoidance during remission can raise the possibility of adverse symptoms, including visceral hypersensitivity, altered physiology, and altered psychosocial, neurocognitive, or coexisting functional factors, the investigators found.

Using a questionnaire, researchers explored dietary habits in self-reported remission cases in patients with inactive UC to determine participants’ perceived strong links between diet in triggering flares and maintaining remission.

A questionnaire was administered to 208 participants with inactive UC attending inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) clinics, resulting in 31% of patients claiming diet was the initiating factor for UC, and 37% reporting diet could trigger relapse.

Additionally, 59% reported avoidance of dietary items such as spicy (43%) and fatty (38%) foods, as well as alcohol (27%), coffee (24%), carbonated drinks, (26%) and dairy products (21%).

Researchers also reported women to be more likely to practice dietary avoidance. “Twenty-three percent had used exclusion diets, most commonly gluten- or lactose-free. Those reporting relapse in the previous year were more likely to avoid the same menu as their family, and females were less likely to eat out in order to prevent relapse. Information resources guiding food avoidance included participants’ own experiences, health care professionals’ advice, and the internet,” the authors concluded.

—Angelique Platas

Reference:

Crooks B, McLaughlin J, Matsuoka K, Kobayashi T, Yamazaki H, Limdi JK. The dietary practices and beliefs of people living with inactive ulcerative colitis.Eur. J. Gastroenterol. Hepatol.2021;33(3):372-379.  doi: 10.1097/MEG.0000000000001911