P269 - MAJORITY OF IPF PATIENTS LOST WEIGHT WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF DIAGNOSIS

P269

MAJORITY OF IPF PATIENTS LOST WEIGHT WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF DIAGNOSIS

A. H. Guðbjartsdóttir¹, A. R. Ingadottir^1,2,*, G. Gudmundsson^3,4

¹Department of Clinical Nutrition, Landspitali University Hospital, ²Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland, ³Department of Respiratory Medicine, Landspitali University Hospital, ⁴Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

Rationale: Studies on Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients show that poor nutritional status is common and associated with worse prognosis, predicting all-cause hospitalisation and mortality. This study aims to investigate the nutritional status among IPF patients and to assess weight changes during the disease progression.

Methods: This is a descriptive retrospective study of 91 patients diagnosed with IPF who received treatment in outpatient department. Information about the patients was retrieved from electronic medical records. Patients were screened for risk of malnutrition retrospectively using a validated screening tool. Information about patients' nutritional symptoms, and their 25 (OH) vitamin D status was examined (vitamin D deficiency defined as <50 nmol/L).

Results: Of 91 individuals diagnosed with IPF 72% were male and 28% female, and average age at diagnosis was 75.2 ± 8.4 years. Half of the patients received antifibrotic treatment. There were 50 people screened for malnutrition; 60% had a strong risk of malnutrition. Of the 60 patients with information on weight changes, 70% lost weight within the first year of diagnosis, and 43% lost 5% or more of their weight. The most common nutritional symptoms experienced by the patients were loss of appetite (53%) and diarrhoea (56%). Diarrhoea occurred almost exclusively in those on antifibrotic drugs, while both groups experienced a loss of appetite. Vitamin D status was measured for 74% of the patients and 41% of them had a low Vitamin D status.

Conclusion: This study showed that majority of patients lost weight within a year of diagnosis, measuring patients' weight regularly is therefore important. There was a lack of systematic nutritional assessment among patients with IPF.  Assessment of malnutrition risk should be done for all patients with IPF at diagnosis and periodically during their treatment. Vitamin D as a food supplement should also be part of the treatment.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared