Dietary Patterns and Nutrient Intakes in SLE Patients in Oman

Author(s): Asma Al Kindi, A'Shaima Al Kindi, Batool Hassan, Saied Al Yahyai, Mostafa Waly, Aliya Alansari

Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease with unexpected flares that is thought to be affected by dietary habits. In order to explore the dietary habits of Omani patients, we analyzed the intake of nutrients based on the assessment of diet from the semi-quantitative FFQ. Dietary patterns of sixty Omani cases and sixty age-gender-and origin- matched controls were assessed in terms of the recommended number of servings per day according to the Omani healthy plate for the main food groups and compared to the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) per day. Cases were found to consume proteins, fats and carbohydrates higher than RDA per day. Micronutrient intakes by cases showed that the intake of calcium, magnesium, iron, selenium, iodine, vitamins B6, D and E were lower than RDA, while phosphorous and vitamin B12 intake were higher. These observations were similar to previous studies except for B12 that was reported to be lower in SLE cases. However, this is considered as pilot study and the findings need to be confirmed by larger size study.