Diet is associated with the onset of inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. Up to half of IBD patients believe that diet contributes to flares. However, studies on this topic are sparse and merely focus on specific nutrients, food items or food groups. We aimed to analyse the association between dietary patterns and flare occurrence in two geographically distinct Dutch cohorts. In this longitudinal study, 724 IBD patients [Northern cohort: n = 486, Southern cohort: n = 238] were included and followed for 2 years. Habitual dietary intake was obtained via semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires at baseline. Principal component analysis [PCA] was conducted on 22 food groups to identify dietary patterns. Flare occurrence was analysed in 427 patients in remission at baseline, using multivariable Cox proportional hazards. Compared to the Southern cohort, patients in the Northern cohort were younger at diagnosis, comprised more females, and had lower overall energy intakes [all p < 0.05]. PCA revealed three dietary patterns explaining 28.8% of the total variance. The most pronounced pattern [explaining 11.6%] was characterized by intake of grain products, oils, potatoes, processed meat, red meat, condiments and sauces, and sugar, cakes and confectionery. Of the 427 patients, 106 [24.8%] developed an exacerbation during follow-up. The above dietary pattern was associated with flare occurrence (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04–2.18, p = 0.029), as was female sex [HR: 1.63, 95% CI 1.04–2.55, p = 0.032]. A dietary pattern, which can be seen as a ‘traditional [Dutch]’ or “Western’ pattern was associated with flare occurrence. Confirmation in prospective studies is needed.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) share common culprit foods and potential pathophysiological factors. However, how diet may contribute to disease course and whether this differs between both entities is unclear. We therefore investigated the association of dietary indices with intestinal inflammation and gastrointestinal symptoms in both IBD and IBS patients. Food frequency questionnaires from 238 IBD, 261 IBS and 195 healthy controls (HC) were available to calculate the overall diet quality by the Dutch Healthy Diet-Index 2015 (DHD-2015) and its inflammatory potential by the Adapted Dietary Inflammatory Index (ADII). Intestinal inflammation and symptoms were evaluated by faecal calprotectin and the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, respectively. The DHD-2015 was lower in IBD and IBS versus HC (p < 0.001), being associated with calprotectin levels in IBD (b = −4.009, p = 0.006), and with abdominal pain (b = −0.012, p = 0.023) and reflux syndrome (b = −0.016, p = 0.004) in IBS. ADII scores were comparable between groups and were only associated with abdominal pain in IBD (b = 0.194, p = 0.004). In this side-by-side comparison, we found a lower diet quality that was differentially associated with disease characteristics in IBD versus IBS patients. Longitudinal studies are needed to further investigate the role of dietary factors in the development of flares and predominant symptoms.

Background and Aim: Myosteatosis is a prognostic factor in cancer and liver cirrhosis. It can be determined noninvasively using computed tomography or, as shown recently, by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The primary aim was to analyze the reproducibility of skeletal muscle signal intensity on routine MR‐enterographies, as indicator of myosteatosis, in Crohn's disease (CD) and to explore the association between skeletal muscle signal intensity at diagnosis with time to intestinal resection.Methods: CD patients undergoing MR‐enterography within 6 months from diagnosis and having a maximum of 5 years follow‐up were included. Skeletal muscle signal intensity was analyzed on T1‐weighted fat‐saturated post‐contrast images. Intra‐observer and inter‐observer reproducibilities were assessed by intra‐class correlation coefficient and Cohen's kappa. Intra‐observer and inter‐observer variabilities were determined by Pearson correlation coefficient and displayed by Bland–Altman plots. Time to intestinal resection was studied by Kaplan–Meier analysis.Results: Median time between diagnosis and MR‐enterography was 5 weeks (inter‐quartile range 1–9) in 35 CD patients. Skeletal muscle signal intensity showed good intra‐class correlation and substantial agreement (for intra‐observer, intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.948, κ = 0.677; and inter‐observer reproducibility, intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.858, κ = 0.622). Resection free survival was shorter in the low skeletal muscle signal intensity group (P = 0.037).Conclusion: Skeletal muscle signal intensity on routine MR‐enterographies is reproducible and was associated with unfavorable disease outcome, indicating potential clinical relevance.

A Western diet comprises high levels of dicarbonyls and advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), which may contribute to flares and symptoms in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We therefore investigated the intake of dietary dicarbonyls and AGEs in IBD and IBS patients as part of the habitual diet, and their association with intestinal inflammation. Food frequency questionnaires from 238 IBD, 261 IBS as well as 195 healthy control (HC) subjects were used to calculate the intake of dicarbonyls methylglyoxal, glyoxal, and 3-deoxyglucosone, and of the AGEs Nε-(carboxymethyl)lysine, Nε-(1-carboxyethyl)lysine and methylglyoxal-derived hydroimidazolone-1. Intestinal inflammation was assessed using faecal calprotectin. The absolute dietary intake of all dicarbonyls and AGEs was higher in IBD and HC as compared to IBS (all p < 0.05). However, after energy-adjustment, only glyoxal was lower in IBD versus IBS and HC (p < 0.05). Faecal calprotectin was not significantly associated with dietary dicarbonyls and AGEs in either of the subgroups. The absolute intake of methylglyoxal was significantly higher in patients with low (<15 μg/g) compared to moderate calprotectin levels (15–<50 μg/g, p = 0.031). The concentrations of dietary dicarbonyls and AGEs generally present in the diet of Dutch patients with IBD or IBS are not associated with intestinal inflammation, although potential harmful effects might be counteracted by anti-inflammatory components in the food matrix.

Background and Aims: To improve quality of life (QoL), patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) often self-experiment with lifestyle changes such as dietary modifications. The nature (e.g., type of interventions, expectations, perceived efficacy) of these single-subject experiments has not been systematically investigated. Method: We used Participatory Narrative Inquiry (PNI), a structured qualitative method, to obtain information about these experiments through patient stories. Results: We demonstrate that PNI can be a method to collect and analyze IBD patient ideas and experiences regarding lifestyle and nutritional factors in a structured manner to reveal valuable insights for personal and scientific follow-up research. Patients report rest, (psychological) balance, and a change in diet when describing times when they experienced a better QoL. When focusing on diet, patients reported a considerable number of food products that were experienced as beneficial by one person but detrimental by another. Conclusions: PNI is a suitable method to obtain information about self-experimentation. An insight that was attained was that personalized (dietary) guidance that supports the individual is needed.