Dr Audrey Tierney, a Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Limerick was awarded a grant by the Health Research Board (HRB) and the Health Research Charities of Ireland (HRCI) with Cystic Fibrosis Ireland for a project called ‘Exploring diet quality in Cystic Fibrosis – enablers and barriers to eating a healthy diet in CF’.

We know that a diet high in energy and fat has typically been advised to people with CF to reach weight or body mass index (BMI) goals because of the relationship between BMI and lung function. Often times these diets tend to be higher in saturated fat, sugar and salt and lack essential nutrients. Whilst studies in this area have documented nutrient intakes (e.g. energy, fat, carbohydrates, protein), there is a lack of data on overall diet quality, especially in adults with CF (i.e. meeting food groups, getting sufficient vitamin intakes etc). In addition, no study has addressed the drivers and barriers to eating a healthy diet for people with CF.

Audrey and the team at University of Limerick are aiming to explore more about the diets that people with CF living in Ireland consume on a day to day basis, look at the overall quality of the diets and investigate the impact that the diet has on CF and on quality of life.

Any person with CF (greater than 18 years) can participate in the study

What will the study involve:

• Completing a food diary and some questionnaires (can be completed online or paper based, whatever suits best)
• Online focus groups will be run to talk about what influences people with CF with their eating habits or the diets and food practices. This is an optional component of the study.  

This baseline information will then inform future interventions to assess the effects of a ‘healthier’ type diet in CF (for example a Mediterranean type diet) on some measures like BMI, lung function, inflammatory markers, quality of life to assess if energy and nutrient requirements can be met in a way that the quality of the diet is also achieved.

By completing this survey & diet diary to inform current and future dietary practices in CF, participants will receive a €50 'One4all' gift card!

If you wish to get involved click on the link below to register your interest.

Alternatively you can contact Audrey by email audrey.tierney@ul.ie, via twitter @AudreyTierney  or phone/text 086 8652977.

Further information is available in the Participant Information Sheet and promotional material linked below.

Audrey spoke at the CFI Annual Conference in April 2021 on Diet and CF, you can watch the session back below.