OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the dietary intake of children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) using a 24-hour diet recall and relating it to the patients clinical and anthropometric characteristics and to the drugs used in their treatment. METHODS: By means of a cross-sectional study, we assessed the 24-hour diet recalls of outpatients. Their nutritional status was classified according to the CDC (2000). The computer program NutWin UNIFESP-EPM was used for food intake calculation. The Recommended Dietary Allowances and the Brazilian food pyramid were used for quantitative and qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Median age was 12 years for JIA patients and 16.5 years for JSLE patients. Among the JIA patients, 37.5% had active disease, and among the JSLE patients, 68.2% showed Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) > 4. Malnutrition was found in 8.3 and 4.5% of the JIA and JSLE patients, respectively, and obesity was present in 16.7 and 18.2%. For JIA patients, the excessive intake of energy, protein, and lipids was 12.5, 75, and 31.3%, respectively. For JSLE patients, the excessive intake of energy, protein, and lipids was 13.6, 86.4, and 36.4%, respectively. Low intake of iron, zinc, and vitamin A was found in 29.2 and 50, 87.5 and 86.4, and 87.5 and 95.2% of the JIA and JSLE patients, respectively. There was not a significant association between intake, disease activity, and nutritional status. CONCLUSION: Patients with rheumatic diseases have inadequate dietary intake. There is excessive intake of lipids and proteins and low intake of micronutrients.
Rheumatic diseases; dietary intake; child; adolescent
