Body Mass Index Profile of Adult Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in a Multicenter Study in Northeastern Brazil

Jones Silva Lima; Carlos Alexandre Antunes de Brito; Lívia Medeiros Soares Celani; Marcelo Vicente Toledo de Araújo; Maurilio Toscano de Lucena; Graciana Bandeira Salgado Vasconcelos; Gustavo André Silva Lima; Fernando Jorge Firmino Nóbrega; George Tadeu Nunes Diniz; Norma Lucena-Silva; Regiane Maio; Valéria Ferreira Martinelli

doi:10.2147/CEG.S436699

Body Mass Index Profile of Adult Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in a Multicenter Study in Northeastern Brazil

Clin Exp Gastroenterol. 2023 Nov 14:16:213-224. doi: 10.2147/CEG.S436699. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jones Silva Lima¹, Carlos Alexandre Antunes de Brito^{1

2

3

4}, Lívia Medeiros Soares Celani^{2

5}, Marcelo Vicente Toledo de Araújo^{2

6}, Maurilio Toscano de Lucena⁷, Graciana Bandeira Salgado Vasconcelos^{1

2

8}, Gustavo André Silva Lima^{1

2

4}, Fernando Jorge Firmino Nóbrega⁶, George Tadeu Nunes Diniz⁹, Norma Lucena-Silva⁹, Regiane Maio¹⁰, Valéria Ferreira Martinelli^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital das Clínicas, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
² Department of Gastroenterology, Member of Organização Brasileira de Doença de Crohn e Retocolite - GEDIIB, São Paulo, Brazil.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Center of Medical Sciences of Federal University of Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Immunology, Autoimune Research Institute, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
⁵ Department of Gastroenterology, Onofre Lopes Hospital, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
⁶ Department of Gastroenterology, Lauro Wanderley Hospital, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
⁷ Department of Coloproctology, Barão de Lucena Hospital, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
⁸ Department of Gastroenterology, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
⁹ Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, Brazil.
¹⁰ Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Abstract

Purpose: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a disease of increasing prevalence in developing countries. Obesity has emerged as a potential risk for IBD; however, the data in the literature are conflicting, and relevant studies in Brazil are limited. Here, we report body mass index profile (BMI) of patients with IBD treated at reference centers in three states of northeastern Brazil.

Patients and methods: Observational descriptive study conducted from January 2021 through December 2021 in patient with IBD.

Results: Of 470 patients with IBD, 194 (41%) were classified as normal weight, 42 (9%) as underweight, 155 (33%) as overweight, and 79 (17%) as obese; CD patients were significantly more likely to be underweight than UC patients (p=0.031)Overweight patients were older (median age: 47 years) than normal-weight and underweight patients at diagnosis (38.5 and 35.5 years, respectively [p<0.0001]). IBD onset and diagnosis among overweight and obese individuals were associated with older age. More extensive disease behavior patterns predominated in UC, while forms associated with complications were prevalent in CD, irrespective of nutritional status. There was a higher frequency of compatible symptoms with axial joint inflammation among obese patients (p=0.005) and a lower frequency of compatible symptoms with peripheral joint inflammation in underweight patients (p=0.044) than in patients of normal weight. No significant difference in the frequency of different drug or surgical treatments was observed among the groups.

Conclusion: Despite the predominance of overweight and obesity in patients with IBD, no differences in the patterns of disease were seen between the overweight and normal-weight groups; however, obesity was associated with IBD onset in older adults and a higher frequency compatible symptom with axial joint inflammation. These data reinforce the importance of monitoring the nutritional status of IBD patients and the need for a multidisciplinary approach, as recommended in the current guidelines.

Keywords: Crohn’s disease; obesity; overweight; ulcerative colitis.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Brazil, under a specific grant (IISR-2020-102789). The sponsors did not participate in the design of the study, the analysis of the results, or the content of the publication.