Significance of nutritional treatment for patients with inflammatory bowel disease in the era of biologics

Abstract

Review Article OJGH (2019) 2:20 Significance of nutritional treatment for patients with inflammatory bowel disease in the era of biologics Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease (CD), is a chronic gastrointestinal tract inflammatory disorder. Although its etiology remains unknown, it has been reported that nutrition is involved in the onset of IBD. Patients with IBD often experience malnutrition due to malabsorption and increased energy requirements. Malnutrition is a serious issue for patients with IBD, especially in young people. Growth retardation characterized by delayed skeletal maturation and onset of puberty is a representative complication. In addition, immunosuppression, osteoporosis, and sarcopenia are important issues. Functional foods and diets have been known to alleviate gastrointestinal inflammation by modulating inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, appropriate nutritional treatment has been reported to be effective on the induction and maintenance of remission in patients with IBD, especially with CD. Conversely, there are negative reports regarding the efficacy of nutritional therapy in patients with IBD. Recently, various new therapeutic agents such as biologics have emerged as key drugs in IBD treatment. In this new era, the efficacy of nutritional treatment, including combination therapy with biologics, should be reconsidered to improve the quality of life in patients with IBD. In this review, the nutritional treatment for patients with IBD is reviewed, and the latest evidence is provided.