Nutritional intervention in patients with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus: protective effect against the increase in fat mass

Patients with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) usually have an increase in fat mass and decrease in lean body mass. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a nutritional intervention on changes in body composition and food consumption of adolescents with JSLE compared with a control group and its variation over time and to assess the association of total fat mass with clinical parameters. This randomized controlled study evaluated 31 girls. Body composition and food intake were evaluated at baseline. The patients were randomly allocated into a nutritional intervention group and a control group. The intervention group received monthly nutritional guidelines for 9 months. After this period, evaluations were repeated. The carbohydrates intake decreased in the intervention group compared with the control group (p = 0.031) at the end of the study period. Additionally, a significant decrease was observed in the intake of energy (p = 0.023), carbohydrates (p = 0.031), protein (p = 0.024), total fat (p = 0.027), saturated fat (p = 0.012), and trans fat (p = 0.029) in the intervention group between baseline and the end of the study. There was an average increase of 3.7 kg (95% CI 0.8–6.5) in the total fat mass (p = 0.013) and 0.36 kg/m² (95% CI 0.10–0.62) in the appendicular fat mass (p = 0.007) in the control group during the study period; this finding was not observed in the intervention group. A 9-month nutritional intervention in JSLE patients improved their eating habits and protected against the excessive gain of weight and body fat.