S1499 Evaluating Muscle Mass in IBD Patients by Severities of Disease Burden

Introduction: Increased evidence suggests that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) experience progressive muscle atrophy largely driven by malnutrition from poor oral intake, abdominal pain, and chronic systemic inflammation. The study aimed to evaluate whether greater IBD disease severity is associated with reduced skeletal muscle mass. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with IBD at the University of Florida between January 2013 and June 2017. A total of 1,102 patient records with International Classification of Diseases-10 code for ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease were screened. Patients were included if they had a confirmed IBD diagnosis based in biopsy or imaging findings. Demographic data, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and disease severity were collected. Abdominal and pelvic CT scans at the L3 level were analyzed using Slice-O-Matic software to calculate the psoas muscle index (PMI) defined as psoas muscle surface area (cm2) divided by height squared (m2). Associations between disease severity and PMI were assessed using t-tests and ANOVA with statistical significance set at P < 0.05. Results: Of the 395 patients confirmed, 315 of them were excluded due to unquantified disease severity leaving 80 patients for analysis (mild = 9; moderate = 16; severe = 55). Here was no significant difference in PMI across the severity groups (P = 0.0682). However, when grouping patients with moderate and severe disease together, the mean PMI was significantly lower compared to those with mid disease (4.33 vs 4.89 cm2/m2, P = 0.383). Conclusion: Greater disease severity in patients with IBD is associated with reduced skeletal muscle mass, highlighting the increased risk of sarcopenia among patients with more severe disease. These findings underscore the importance of early nutritional assessment and muscle preservation strategies in the management of IBD patients with high disease burden.