Assessing nutritional status of acute intermittent porphyria patients
European Journal of Clinical Investigation, 08/17/2012
Garcia–Diz L et al. – The patients with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) studied individually show an increased risk of malnutrition and, given the potential increase of oxidative stress in patients with porphyria, it is recommended that they should increase their intake of carbohydrates, minerals and antioxidant nutrients.
Methods- Sixteen patients with AIP and a control group were evaluated by means of a lifestyle questionnaire, the Nutrition Screening Initiative checklist and a dietary questionnaire.
- The following diet quality indicators were calculated: animal and vegetal proteins, protein quality index, PUFA/SFA and MUFA + PUFA/SFA ratios, insoluble dietary fibre (DF)/total DF, soluble DF/total DF and insoluble DF/soluble DF ratios, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin density and the vitamin B6/protein ratio.
- Differences in continuous variables were compared using the unpaired Student's t–test and the chi–square test for nonparametric variables.
- The odds ratio (OR) of malnutrition was also used.
- These patients showed a low intake of carbohydrates, a high lipid intake and very high protein intake, and accompanied by an inadequate intake of zinc, folic acid and tocopherol, increasing the risk of malnutrition for energy, Ca, Fe, Mg, K, folic acid and tocopherols.
