Added sugar consumption linked with worse mental health in IBD
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Sugar consumption appeared related to psychiatric comorbidities among patients with inflammatory bowel disease, according to research from Digestive Disease Week.
Maaz Ahsan, a fourth year medical student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said during a recorded audio presentation that because of the interaction taking place on the gut-brain axis, patients with IBD often suffer from anxiety and depression.
“High sugar consumption has been linked with the emergence of this disease, as well as clinical depression,” he said. “Management of these patients can be complex at times, but the avenue of dietary canceling to mitigate disease course has yet to be further explored.”
Researchers collected prospective data from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey Diet and Nutrition of patients with IBD who were followed from 2015 to 2017 (n = 1,410). They classified patients into two groups based on quantity of dietary sugars consumed (< 100g and > 100g).
Investigators compared risk for depression and anxiety between the two groups using IBD questionnaire subscores that assessed mood, activity levels, social engagement and other quality of life factors. Higher scores indicated better patient outcomes.
Patients in the low-sugar group had a mean daily added sugar consumption of 65 g, while patients in the high-sugar group had a mean daily consumption of 120 g.
Ahsan and colleagues found that high sugar consumption was associated with more feelings of fatigue (P = .008), trouble with social engagement (P < .001), difficulty with leisure activity (P = .007), feelings of depression (P < .001) and trouble relaxing (P = .002) compared with low sugar consumption among patients with IBD.
However, patients in the high sugar group had less difficulty maintain weight (P = .002).
“Sugar consumption appears to be related to psychiatric comorbidity in the IBD population,” Ahsan said. “Mechanisms linking diet, gut microbiome, metabolome and mental health status is yet to be determined.” – by Alex Young
Reference:
Ahsan M, et al. Abstract 25. Presented at: Digestive Disease Week; May 2-5, 2020; Chicago (meeting canceled).
Disclosures: Ahsan reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the study abstract for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.