Dietary beliefs and information resources of ulcerative colitis patients in clinical remission: A cross-sectional survey in Taiwan

Background & aims: Despite the lack of evidence for the benefits of dietary restrictions for ulcerative colitis (UC), the majority of patients with UC restrict their diets to avoid relapses. Few studies have examined information resources that affect patients' dietary beliefs or practices, but none have inves-tigated UC patients in clinical remission from Asia. This survey investigated the dietary beliefs, practices, and information resources of Taiwanese UC patients in clinical remission.Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was administered. Fifty UC patients in clinical remission (defined based on having a 2-item patient-reported outcome score of <= 1 with no rectal bleeding for >= 90 days) were recruited from National Taiwan University Hospital between September 2017 and March 2018.Results: In total, 22 patients (45.8%) believed diet to be the initiating factor for UC, and 48.0% of patients believed diet has ever triggered relapses. Forty-two patients (85.7%) avoided specific foods to prevent a relapse. Spicy foods were the most avoided foods (75.5%), following by alcohol (69.4%), carbonated beverages (63.3%), milk or milk products (59.2%), and fatty foods (59.2%). The patients' information re-sources for dietary beliefs and practices consisted mainly of their own experience. Approximately one-third of the patients have avoided the same menu with their family or avoided outdoor dining to pre-vent UC relapses.Conclusions: This is the first dietary belief survey focusing on clinical remission UC patients from Asia. Most clinical remission UC patients spontaneously avoided specific foods based on their own experi-ences. Dietary restrictions may negatively affect patients' social lives. Further dietary counseling is necessary to minimize the possible negative impacts on UC patients in clinical remission.(c) 2022 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This survey focused on the dietary beliefs, practices, and information resources of Taiwanese UC patients in clinical remission. It found that a majority of patients believed diet could trigger UC and avoided specific foods to prevent relapses, with spicy foods being the most commonly avoided. Information resources mainly came from patients' own experiences.