Background: An adequate nutritional status and a balanced diet are essential for a functional immune system, especially in chronic diseases that condition a catabolic state. The increase in adipose tissue and the proinflammatory environment that it generates influences rheumatic diseases. ^1. This translates to increased disease activity, morbidity and mortality.

Objectives: To describe body composition and nutritional status alterations in patients with rheumatological diseases in a 3 ^rd level center in northern Mexico.

Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in a third level center in northern Mexico. Anthropometric measurements were made by electrical bioimpedance analysis with the InnerScan TANITA BC-533 equipment (Yesod, S.A de C.V. Japan). Descriptive statistics were performed for categorical variables and measures of central tendency and dispersion were used for quantitative variables.

Results: A total of 1,666 evaluations of 1,218 individual patients were included: 1,098 (90.14%) women and 119 (9.77%) men. The mean age was 50 (±13). The most frequent diagnoses were rheumatoid arthritis 556 (45.64%), systemic lupus erythematosus 164 (13.46%), osteoarthritis 106 (8.7%) and fibromyalgia 48 (3.9%). The means of the anthropometric measurements were weight 69.78. kg (±15.53), height 1.57 m (±.07), percentage of total fat 35.17% (±9.3), percentage of body water 45.15% (±6.42), visceral fat 8.32(±.3.9), kg muscle 41.84 kg (6.4), bone mass 2.35 (±.0.75), metabolic age 50(±13), BMI 28.22(±.6.04), waist circumference 92.85(±.15.38), hip circumference 106.8, (±.12.94) waist-hip ratio 0.87 (±.0.08). A total of 431 (35.38%) patients were overweight, 407 (33.41%) had some degree of obesity, 338 (27.75%) had a normal BMI, and only 41 (3.36%) were underweight. 1,013 (83.16%) patients had low lean mass, 719 (59.03%) had low body water percentage, 680 (55.82%) had high levels of total fat, and 163 (13.38%) had visceral fat; 672 (55.17%) sarcopenic obesity and 320 (26.27%) a metabolic age greater than the chronological age.

Conclusion: The nutritional status of rheumatology patients in northern Mexico is inadequate with a high prevalence of obesity, overweight, and low lean mass. Nutritional intervention is of paramount importance in the comprehensive management of patients with rheumatologic diseases.

REFERENCES:

[1]Scrivo, R., Vasile, M., Müller-Ladner, U., Neumann, E., & Valesini, G. (2013). Rheumatic diseases and obesity: adipocytokines as potential comorbidity biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases. Mediators of inflammation, 2013, 808125.

Disclosure of Interests: None declared