{
  "abstract": "Introduction Nutrition education is an integral, but often overlooked part of patient care in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The VENUS (Views on Education and Nutrition in Scleroderma) questionnaire, developed by Samm and associates, explores rheumatologists’ perceptions on nutrition and patient support. This study aimed to investigate Greek rheumatologists’ perspectives on symptoms, nutritional management and education needs, utilizing the VENUS questionnaire.Material and Methods The VENUS questionnaire was translated into Greek using the forward-backward translation method by a team of dietitians and rheumatologists. The questionnaire, consisting of 13 items across three domains (demographics, patient symptoms, education needs) was distributed to Greek rheumatologists from January until September 2024. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Mann-Whitney U or chi squared tests were applied wherever appropriate to compare differences between male and female practitioners. Associations between age and binary outcomes were examined using t-test when normality assumptions were met. Associations between age and ordinal or nominal variables were assessed with the Kruskal - Wallis test and Spearman’s correlation where appropriate. Statistical analyses were performed using RStudio (version 4.3.2). A p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results A total of 74 healthcare professionals (55.4% male, mean age 48.4±10.7 years old) completed the questionnaire. Most were working in private practice (48.8%) and nearly half of them had a PhD degree (45.9%). The most frequently observed patient symptoms involved ulcers (63.5%), pain (62.2%) and gastrointestinal issues (GI) (51.4%). The most common identified GI issue was reflux (89.2%), followed by bloating (55.4%), heartburn (54.1%) and difficulty in swallowing (52.7%). According to rheumatologists, patients less commonly follow specialized diets or avoided specific foods, although reflux-avoidance strategies and preference for soft foods were noted. Regarding nutrition education, 95.9% of participants valued dietitian consultations with a preference for face-to-face consultations. Half of the responders (50.0%) indicated that nutrition should be discussed according to symptoms, while 17.6% preferred the discussion to occur at diagnosis. No gender differences were observed. Older practitioners demonstrated greater trust in student-led dietary advice (Spearman’s rho=0.39, p=0.0005).Conclusions The Greek adaptation of the VENUS questionnaire highlights the demand for dietitian support in managing patients with SSc. The majority of Greek rheumatologists recognized frequent GI issues and pain, while nearly all supported dietitian involvement and multidisciplinary teams.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece"
      ],
      "name": "Arriana Gkouvi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece"
      ],
      "name": "Eleni Pardali"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece"
      ],
      "name": "Elisavet Efthymiou"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece"
      ],
      "name": "Theodora Simopoulou"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece"
      ],
      "name": "Dimitrios Bogdanos"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece"
      ],
      "name": "Maria Grammatikopoulou"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P.310 Greek adaptation of the VENUS questionnaire: rheumatologists’ perspectives on nutrition in patients with systemic sclerosis",
  "uid": "ff16747f-ff7d-5840-b883-68fd5aa50324"
}