Impact of Overweight and Obesity on Disease Outcome in the Pediatric Swiss Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort

Thea von Graffenried; Alain M Schoepfer; Jean-Benoit Rossel; Thomas Greuter; Ekaterina Safroneeva; Sébastien Godat; Sarah Henchoz; Stephan R Vavricka; Christiane Sokollik; Johannes Spalinger; Christian P Braegger; Andreas Nydegger

doi:10.1097/PG9.0000000000000193

Impact of Overweight and Obesity on Disease Outcome in the Pediatric Swiss Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort

JPGN Rep. 2022 Mar 31;3(2):e193. doi: 10.1097/PG9.0000000000000193. eCollection 2022 May.

Affiliations

¹ From the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois [CHUV] and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
² Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois [CHUV] and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
³ Clinical Trials Unit, Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁴ Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁵ Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁶ Center for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁷ Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, University Children's Hospital, Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁸ Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Children's Hospital LUKS, Lucerne, Switzerland.
⁹ Nutrition Research Unit, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Abstract

Given the paucity of data, we aimed to assess the impact of obesity on disease activity, complications, and quality of life (QoL) in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients.

Methods: Prospective analysis of pediatric IBD patients. Patients were categorized into 4 groups according to the World Health Organization (WHO) child growth standards: obese, overweight, normal weight, and underweight.

Results: Three hundred twenty-seven pediatric patients were included (146 with Crohn's disease [CD], 181 with ulcerative colitis of whom 13 [4%] were underweight, 272 [83.2%] had normal weight, 22 [6.7%] were overweight, and 20 [6.1%] were obese). Compared with normal weight patients, obese ulcerative colitis had a significantly higher clinical but not biological disease activity nor severity. Compared with normal weight patients, overweight/obese CD patients did not have higher clinical or biological disease activity nor severity. Perianal abscesses and surgery for this purpose were more frequently observed in overweight/obese CD patients compared with normal weight controls. Overweight/obese IBD patients were similarly hospitalized in the last 12 months compared with normal weight controls.

Conclusions: Prevalence of overweight/obesity was 12.8% in pediatric IBD patients. Obesity was not associated with a decrease in disease remission rates nor an increase in the risk of complicated disease progression in IBD pediatric patients, except for the occurrence of perianal abscesses and related surgery in CD patients.

Keywords: Crohn’s disease; body mass index; disease activity; quality of life; ulcerative colitis.

Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition and the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.