Frequent report of vitamin deficiencies and use of supplements and complementary/alternative treatment approaches in patients with eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases.

BACKGROUND

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs) impact nutrition.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the frequency of vitamin deficiencies, supplement use, and complementary/alternative-medication (CAM) use in EoE and non-EoE EGID patients.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

We surveyed members of EGID Partners (egidpartners.org), a patient-centered research network, to assess physician-diagnosed vitamin deficiencies, supplement use, and use of CAM in patients with EoE versus non-EoE EGIDs.

RESULTS

Of 81 EGID patients (58 EoE and 23 non-EoE EGID), self-reported frequency of vitamin deficiencies were higher in non-EoE EGIDs compared to EoE (61% vs 50%; p = 0.38; Table 1). Most patients (77%) indicated taking vitamins or supplements, with higher frequency in non-EoE EGID cases (87% vs 72%; p = 0.16). Use of >30 different supplements was reported. For CAM, herbal approaches were more frequent in non-EoE EGIDs compared to EoE (26% vs 5%; p = 0.008).

CONCLUSION

Vitamin deficiencies and supplement/CAM use are frequent in EGIDs, highlighting the need for additional EGID treatment.