Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that may cause nutritional impairment. The aim of the present study was to assess differences in nutritional status and Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to disease activity.

Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study, conducted among patients consulting the rheumatology department of La Rabta University hospital for RA. To assess disease activity and adherence to Mediterranean diet, we opted for the subjective disease activity score28 (DAS28) and MedDietScore. The dietary survey data were subsequently analyzed using the NUTRILOG software.

Results: This study included 52 patients. Patients were subdivided into 2 groups: G1 includes 35 patients with low activity RA and G2 with very active RA according to DAS28. The median age was 56.26± 13.12 years. The mean Body Mass Index (BMI) was 28.84 kg/m² in G1 vs 28.20 kg/m² in G2 (P=0.74) and 52.9% of patients in G2 were obese (BMI ⩾30 kg/m²) Vs 48,6%; P=0,76. waist circumference was higher in G2 with no statistically significant association; P=0,86. the two groups (P=0.22). The eating pattern of G2 patients was more regular than that of patients in G1, with a P-value of 0.7. The frequency of consumption of certain foods such as Walnuts, Rapeseed Oil, Soybean Oil, Fish, Cinnamon, Garlic, Ginger, Sesame, and Turmeric did not differ significantly between the two groups. Patients in G1 adhered more to the Mediterranean diet without significant difference (7.26 vs 7.18; P=0.88). The calorie surplus was higher for patients in the low-activity PR group (404 kcal vs 52.09 kcal; P=0.55). Spontaneous macronutrient intake did not differ significantly between the two groups. Only the percentage of daily intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was significantly higher in G2 (P=0.03). Regarding micronutrient and fiber intake, only the sodium intake was significantly higher in patients from G1 (6059,31 mg vs 4604,59 mg; P-value= 0,01.

Conclusion: Specialized nutritional management should be instituted in patients with RA to avoid disruption of their nutritional status.