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.

Plain language summary

Complementary medicine and EGIDs

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs) are due to eosinophilic inflammation in different parts of the GI tract and can have a number of symptoms including poor nutrition. This study aimed to describe the proportion of patients with EGIDs that had a vitamin deficiency and used supplements and complementary/alternative medications (CAMs). We found more than half of patients had been diagnosed with a vitamin deficiency and more than three-quarters used supplements or CAMs. This implies that vitamin deficiencies and CAMs should be better studied in EGIDs to potentially improve health outcomes.

Search results

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