Background: Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is a chronic disease characterized by inflammation of colonic mucosa. Environmental factors such as dietary patterns may increase symptoms in UC patients.
Aim: To validate and implement a questionnaire to identify foods that exacerbates symptoms in UC patients.
Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted to validate and to assess the relationship of food and symptoms in Mexican UC patients.
Results: The IVC obtained was 0.56 in the questionnaire and kappa = 0.03 in foods from animal origin, 0.5 cereals and tubers, 0.2 legumes, 0.4 vegetables and fruits, 0.4 fats and 0.3 in others. The evaluation was carried out in UC patients (n = 233), 65% active and 35% in UC remission, the current age was 45 (SD; 15) years in active UC and 40 (SD; 15) years in UC remission. Three food groups were made based on the frequency of symptoms: Group A; symptoms more often, especially the active vs remission (P <0.05); Group B caused more symptoms in remission UC vs active UC (P = 0.07) and Group C caused more symptoms in the active UC (P = 0.05).
Conclusion: Foods with higher frequency of symptoms in patients with UC were: beans, whole milk, plum, lima beans and spicy sauce.