ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Despite the potential benefits of diet and physical activity, evidence for beneficial effects of a combined lifestyle intervention is lacking in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Therefore, we assessed its effects on impact of disease on daily life, clinical disease activity, fatigue, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with IBD. METHODS: A 6-month single-arm intervention study was performed in adult IBD patients in remission or with mildly active disease. Participants received personal dietary and physical activity advice from a dietician and a physiotherapist in 6 consults. At baseline and over time, questionnaires on diet quality, physical activity, and disease-related outcomes were completed and fecal calprotectin was determined. Data were analyzed by linear mixed models. RESULTS: During the intervention, diet quality significantly increased (P < .001), but the level of physical activity remained the same. Over time, impact of the disease on daily life reduced (P = .009) and fatigue decreased (P = .001), while clinical disease activity, HRQoL, and fecal calprotectin did not change. Improvement in diet quality was significantly associated with a lower impact of disease on daily life (ß = 0.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.03 to 0.15; P = .003) and less fatigue (ß = -0.13; 95% CI, -0.20 to -0.07; P < .001) but not with clinical disease activity, HRQoL, and fecal calprotectin. No associations were found with physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: This combined lifestyle intervention significantly improved diet quality, and this improvement was associated with a reduction in the impact of disease on daily life and fatigue in patients with IBD in remission or with mildly active disease.
Diet quality significantly improved following a lifestyle intervention based on general dietary and physical activity guidelines. This improvement in diet quality was associated with a reduction in the impact of disease on daily life and fatigue in patients with IBD.
