Nutrients. 2023 Aug 31;15(17):3824. doi: 10.3390/nu15173824.

Marco Valvano ^1 2, Annalisa Capannolo ³, Nicola Cesaro ¹, Gianpiero Stefanelli ², Stefano Fabiani ¹, Sara Frassino ¹, Sabrina Monaco ¹, Marco Magistroni ¹, Angelo Viscido ¹, Giovanni Latella ¹

Author information

¹Gastroenterology Unit, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Piazzale Salvatore Tommasi 1, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.

²Division of Gastroenterology, Galliera Hospital, 16128 Genoa, Italy.

³Diagnostic and Surgical Endoscopy Unit, San Salvatore Academic Hospital, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.

Abstract

During the disease course, most Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients present a condition of malnutrition, undernutrition, or even overnutrition. These conditions are mainly due to suboptimal nutritional intake, alterations in nutrient requirements and metabolism, malabsorption, and excessive gastrointestinal losses. A suboptimal nutritional status and low micronutrient serum levels can have a negative impact on both induction and maintenance of remission and on the quality of life of Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients. We performed a systematic review including all the studies evaluating the connection between nutrition, nutrition status (including undernutrition and overnutrition), micronutrient deficiency, and both disease course and therapeutic response in Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients. This systematic review was performed using PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus. Four main clinical settings concerning the effect of nutrition on disease course in adult Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients were analyzed (induction of remission, maintenance of remission, risk of surgery, post-operative recurrence, and surgery-related complications). Four authors independently reviewed abstracts and manuscripts for eligibility. 6077 articles were found; 762 duplicated studies were removed. Out of 412 full texts analyzed, 227 were included in the review. The evidence summarized in this review showed that many nutritional aspects could be potential targets to induce a better control of symptoms, a deeper remission, and overall improve the quality of life of Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients.