Malnutrition in inflammatory bowel disease: an anthropometric study.

Although malnutrition is common in Crohn's disease, some features are often overlooked. We have examined the value of simple anthropometric measurements in identifying the patients who were likely to have clinical features of malnutrition. Measurements were performed in 106 patients with Crohn's disease, 106 with ulcerative colitis and 106 healthy controls; all measurements were significantly reduced in patients with Crohn's disease (P less than 0.01) compared with controls and colitis patients who had similar measurements. Patients with Crohn's disease most severely affected had diffuse small bowel disease or recurrent disease following surgery. Those who had previous resections but no recurrence were similar to controls. Crohn's patients with colonic and ano-rectal disease were similar to patients with colitis. Anthropometry provides a simple method of documenting the nutritional status of patients with inflammatory bowel disease and helps to identify those with both clinical and biochemical features of malnutrition.