Introduction: The prevalence of lifestyle related diseases is higher among people with psychotic disorders than the general population. The aim was to assess dietary intake of young people with psychotic disorders for the first time in Iceland.

Material and methods: Subjects were young people (n=48, age 18-30y) with psychotic disorders. Dietary intake was assessed by a 24-hour recall in July-August 2016, and compared with official recommendations and intake of the general public (n=250, age 18-30y). Body weight in the past eight to 12 months, was retrieved from medical records.

Results: Consumption of fruits, fish, dairy products, vegetable and fish oil was significantly lower among subjects when compared with the general public, while their soft drink and sweets consumption was higher (p<0.001). Furthermore, the contribution of added sugar was higher (15E% vs. 12E%) and protein intake lower (16E% vs. 18E%). Consumption of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D was lower among subjects than the general public and lower than recommended (0.04±0.3% omega-3 of total energy vs. 1.2±0.6%, p<0.001 and 3.1±4.2 µg vitamin D/day vs. 5.6±6.5 µg/day, p<0.001). Almost 40% of the subjects had gained >5% of their initial body weight in the past 8-2 months.

Conclusion: Diet of young people with psychotic disorders is not consistent with recommendations and is worse than the diet of their peers in the general population. It is important to find ways to improve the diet and thereby nutrient intake of the group.

Table I Consumption (g/day) of selected food from different food groups. Results are presented as mean and standard deviation (SD)for Clients of Laugarásinn and weighted mean for the Icelandic National Survey.

Table II Recommended daily intake, consumption of energy and energy giving nutrients. Results are presented as mean and standard deviation (SD) for Clients of Laugarásinn and weighted mean intake for participants in the Icelandic National Survey.

Figure I Proportional weight changes of the Clients of Laugarásinn during 8-12 months period (n=37). Weight gain of >5% of initial body weight was seen in 14 individuals (40%) and four individuals had gained >20% of their initial weight during the past 8-12 months.