Nutritional Status in patients with Neuro-Behçet's disease

The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional status and risk factors for malnutrition in Behçet’s disease (BD) and neuro-Behçet’s disease (NBD) patients.

Medical recordings of 74 patients with BD without neurological involvement (BDWoNI), 72 patients with NBD, and 50 patients with other diseases (carpal tunnel syndrome or lumbar discopathy) were analyzed retrospectively. The serum analyses were performed in the inactive period of disease. Chronic malnutrition was defined as low levels of serum albumin (<3.5 g/dL) with normal sedimentation rate and normal serum CRP levels.

Six (8.3%) of the patients in NBD group, 1 (1.4%) of the patients in BDWoNI group, and none of the patients in control group had chronic malnutrition (p = 0.029). Malnutrition rate was higher in NBD than control group (p = 0.036). The mean expanded disability status scale score was 2.92 ± 3.35 (range: 0–8) in patients with malnutrition and 1.44 ± 1.76 (range: 0–9) in patients without malnutrition in NBD group (p = 0.457). The ratio of patients having a progressive disease course was 33.3% and 7.6% in patients with and without malnutrition in NBD group, respectively. The median value of the duration of neurological involvement was 2 years (0–16) in patients with malnutrition and 6.5 years (0–18) in patients without malnutrition in NBD group (p = 0.046). There was no association between malnutrition and medications, disability scores, functional system involvement or findings on brain MRI.

Malnutrition was higher in patients with NBD. Higher disability level and progressive disease course may be risk factors for malnutrition in NBD. Malnutrition may be seen more frequently in earlier phases of neurological involvement.