Effects of malnutrition on general quality of life in inflammatory bowel patients

Introduction and aim: In the course of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), malnutrition is a common condition for both the disease itself and some other reasons, such as the drugs used. Malnutrition can also lead to an increase in patients' risk of morbidity and mortality, an increase in treatment costs and impairment in quality of life. Therefore, early detection, treatment and determination of the risk factors for malnutrition are important for IBD patients. Malnutrition risk can be done with screening questionnaires, some biochemical indicators and some anthropometric measurements. In our study, we aimed to determine the frequency of malnutrition, the effects of malnutrition on the overall quality of life, and the demographic, clinical and laboratory features of patients with IB (malnutrition screening tool - malnutrition screening survey) screening survey. Material and Method: Patients diagnosed with IBD who were admitted to Gaziantep University Şahinbey Training and Research Hospital Gastroenterology Outpatient Clinic between January 01, 2020 and April 1, 2020 were screened for the risk of malnutrition by MUST method. The overall quality of life of the patients was investigated using the EQ-5D index. Results: 162 patients, 80 of whom were CH and 82 were UC, were included in the study. In malnutrition evaluation, 48.4% of low-risk malnutrition patients were Crohn's; 51.6% of patients with UC, 52.4% of patients with moderate risk malnutrition were diagnosed with Crohn; 47.6% of them were diagnosed with UC, 52.9% of high-risk malnutrition patients were diagnosed with Crohn; 47.1% of them were diagnosed with UC, and there was no statistically significant difference when both groups were compared in terms of malnutrition (p = 0.90). In the overall quality of life assessment, the mean EQ-5D index of the patients diagnosed with Crohn was 0.83 ± 0.16, the average of EQ-5D VAS was 63.75 ± 19.88; The mean EQ-5D index of the patients diagnosed with UC was 0.81 ± 0.19, the mean of EQ-5D VAS was 67.99 ± 22.09, and there was VI no statistically significant difference when both groups were compared in terms of overall quality of life (respectively, p = 0.355 , p = 0.202). When we compared the remission and activation groups of patients diagnosed with Crohn's and UC on malnutrition and overall quality of life, there was no statistically significant difference between both groups (activation and remission). Conclusion: No significant correlation was found with the activation status of the patients, their malnutrition and general quality of life. Evaluation of weight status, nutritional status and general quality of life in IBD patients in polyclinics gives us the chance to prevent possible malnutrition, anxiety and deterioration of general quality of life during the course of the disease with prophylactic measures. Considering the effect of malnutrition on the prognosis of diseases, evaluation of IBD patients in terms of malnutrition is very important Keywords: Inflammatory bowel diseases, malnutrition, quality of life