P571 The Nordic diet as a tool to improve the activity of disease and psycho-emotional wellbeing in patients with mild and moderate Ulcerative Colitis – the pilot study

Abstract

Background: The Nordic diet (ND) has been associated with reduced inflammatory markers and improved anxiety and stress symptoms. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of the ND on the activity of ulcerative colitis (UC), symptoms of anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Method(s): Patients (N=12) with mild and moderate UC were included (excluding severe UC, UC proctitis, infections). The activity of UC was evaluated with partial Mayo score (pMS) and fecal calprotectin (FC), psycho-emotional wellbeing - using hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and inflammatory bowel disease - fatigue (IBD-F) questionnaire. The patients were evaluated at 3 consecutive visits at week 0, 6 and 10. During the first visit, the patients were consulted by a nutritionist to adjust their diets, received written recommendations and were able to contact the nutritionist later. At every visit HADS, IBD-F scores, and BMI, pMS and FC were registered. The ND score was calculated as described by Bjornara et al., 2015. Patients were considered compliant if the ND score increased by at least 2 points and unhealthy snacks were absent or almost excluded. Related samples Wilcoxon signed rank test and independent samples Kruskal-Wallis test were used to assess statistical significance. The ND score was described as low (0-3), medium (4-5) or high (6-10). Result(s): The characteristics of all patients are summarised in Table 1. One patient had mild exacerbation of UC during the study managed with increased dose of mesalamine. Changes of the ND score (Fig.1) differed significantly in visit 2 (p=0.01). After exclusion of non-compliant patients, the data of 8 patients was analysed. The pMS, FC, HADS, IBD-F (level and impact) did not show significant changes at visit 2. BMI was significantly reduced at visit 2 (p=0.018), median at visit 1 was 28.55 (IQR: 24.16 - 32), visit 2 - 27.65 (23.2 - 30.16) kg/m2. We also found lower FC levels in patients with high ND score, but the difference was not statistically significant (Fig. 2). No significant differences were found regarding the psycho-emotional wellbeing but the impact of fatigue on everyday life was higher in low ND score group (Fig. 3). Conclusion(s): We were not able to show improved FC nor psycho-emotional symptoms after 6 weeks of the ND. The adherence decreased after visit 2, therefore another consultation with the nutritionist could be beneficial to improve the understanding and motivation of the patients. Compliance with the ND reduced BMI and high adherence might be associated with lower FC levels. Further studies with larger patient groups would improve reliability of the results.