A Short Dietary Screener Captures Food Items and Dietary Patterns That Associate With Inflammation in Inflammatory...

Diet is important in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) management, but dietary assessments for clinic use are lengthy and not readily interpretable. The aim of our study was to assess the ability of a short Dietary Screener Questionnaire (DSQ) to capture food items and dietary patterns that are associated with IBD-related inflammation.

We performed a retrospective study in adult patients with IBD who completed the DSQ from January 2019 to June 2021. Biomarkers C-reactive protein (CRP) and fecal calprotectin (Fecal Cal) were captured within 60 days of DSQ completion. General estimating equations examined relationships between food items and CRP or Fecal Cal. Machine learning was performed to develop dietary patterns.

A total of 1067 patients completed the DSQ, and 577 had biochemical data; 40% were Hispanic. Several food items on the DSQ were associated with inflammatory markers on repeated measures. For instance, red meat [OR: 2.57 (1.19-5.56), P = .02], pastry desserts [OR: 2.13 (1.04-4.36), P = .04], and beans [OR: 4.2 (1.23-12.51), P = .02] were associated with higher inflammation (CRP). High vegetable intake [OR: 0.44 (0.22-0.88), P = .02] and baked whole grain goods [OR: 0.15 (0.03-0.67), P = .014] were associated with lower inflammatory markers (Fecal Cal). A dietary pattern defined by the lowest fruit and vegetable intake had the highest CRP levels (P < .001).

The DSQ is a short dietary screener that can identify food items that associate with inflammation in IBD. Our findings suggest that the DSQ is a feasible tool for use in clinical practice to assess, guide, and track dietary recommendations in a practical way.