Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Dietary Practices And Beliefs Of Patients With Chronic Liver Disease, S H. Badruddin, S M. Jafri, A Ahmed, S Abid

Section of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism

Objective: To study of the dietary practices and beliefs of patients suffering from chronic liver disease.

Setting: Two private tertcary care hospitals.

Method: Fifty patients presenting to the Gastroenterology Clinics at the Aga Khan University Hospital and Baqai Hospital, with compensated liver disease and no other co-morbid condition which required dietary modifications, were enrolled in the study. Patients were interviewed regarding their current dietary practices using an open-ended questionnaire.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 48 years and the majority were in relatively poor nutritional status. Four had BMI's < 18; 58% had Hb < 12 g/dl and 36% had albumin levels < 3 gm/dl. The percentage of patients avoiding various foods is as follows: meats 72%, fats and oils 64%, salt 42%, spices 34%, milk and milk products 28%, rice 20%.

Conclusion: The most commonly cited reason for avoiding a …