Background: Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a newly described eating disorder. The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of ARFID in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and assess provider recognition of an eating disorder in these patients.
Methods: One hundred patients with IBD seen at the Mayo Clinic subspecialty IBD practice in Jacksonville, Florida were screened for ARFID. The diagnosis of ARFID was established using the Nine-Item Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Screen (NIAS) questionnaire. Providers also were asked their opinion of each participating patient's disease severity and whether they believed that the patient had an eating disorder.
Results: Of the 98 patients who completed the NIAS questionnaire, 10.2% scored above the clinical cutoff for ARFID. Clinician sensitivity in identifying an eating disorder was 0% and specificity was 96.5%.
Conclusion: This pilot study suggests that patients with IBD are at risk for ARFID. Provider recognition of patients at risk for an eating disorder was low. Efforts to educate gastroenterology clinicians to identify and screen at-risk patients for ARFID and other eating disorders are needed.
Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder; eating disorders.
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