Dieta Anti-Inflamatoria or DAIN: A Crohn's disease management strategy tailored for Puerto Ricans

Abstract

Diet has been increasingly shown to be of therapeutic benefit for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), especially Crohn's disease (CD). Yet dietary guidelines are nonexistent. Moreover, diets tailored to Puerto Ricans with IBD living on the island, have not been developed and tested. The rising prevalence of IBD in Puerto Rico warrants exploring the use of diet as part of the treatment strategies for these patients [1]. Here, we describe the study design of “Dieta Anti-Inflamatoria” or DAIN, a parallel two-arm randomized pilot trial aiming at testing the efficacy of IBD-Anti-inflammatory diet (IBD-AID) adapted for adults with CD living in Puerto Rico (clinical trial registration number: NCT05627128). We tailored the IBD-AID to the local cuisine preferences and food availability by creating and adapting recipes consistent with the IBD-AID principles [2,3]. In focus groups with a Community Research Advisory Panel and one-on-one consultations with implementation experts, we identified several aspects of the intervention to adapt before the implementation. The objectives of the stakeholder/expert-informed adaptation were to improve feasibility and compliance while developing the culturally tailored dietary intervention. DAIN was designed for adults living in Puerto Rico with CD and geared to be affordable, appropriate, and acceptable for patients with mild-to-moderate CD. The significance of this work is the validation of culturally appropriate nutritional guidelines to help manage CD symptoms. DAIN provides a blueprint for a comprehensive nutritional program that can be adapted to regional preferences and local food availability allowing wider implementation of diet as an adjunct treatment in diverse clinical settings.