LB065 - EFFECTS OF A MEDDIET+ INTERVENTION ON DISEASE ACTIVITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: RESULTS FROM THE TASTY TRIAL

LB065

EFFECTS OF A MEDDIET+ INTERVENTION ON DISEASE ACTIVITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: RESULTS FROM THE TASTY TRIAL

S. Charneca^1,*, A. Hernando ¹, I. Almada-Correia^2,3, J. Polido-Pereira^2,3,4, R. Pereira da Costa⁴, A. Silva⁴, A. Vieira³, R. Satokari⁵, A. Hartikainen ⁵, J. Eurico Fonseca^2,3,4, P. Costa-Reis^2,3,6, C. Sousa Guerreiro^1,7

¹Nutrition Lab, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon Academic Medical Centre, ²Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon Academic Medical Centre, ³GIMM - Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine, ⁴Rheumatology department, ULS Santa Maria, Lisbon Academic Medical Centre, Lisbon, Portugal, ⁵Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, ⁶Pediatric Rheumatology unit, ULS Santa Maria, Lisbon Academic Medical Centre, ⁷Environmental Health Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon Academic Medical Centre, Lisbon, Portugal

Rationale: Diet and nutritional status have been associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) outcomes. We evaluated the effect of a Mediterranean Diet with fermented foods (MedDiet+) on disease activity and quality of life in RA patients.

Methods: 47 RA patients (58.6±11.1 years; 91.5% female) were randomized to a 12-week MedDiet+ intervention (n=24) or control group (n=23). The intervention included a dietary plan, educational resources, food basket deliveries, and clinical culinary workshops, while the controls received standardised dietary advice. Fat mass percentage (FM) was assessed by bioelectric impedance analysis. Disease activity was evaluated by DAS28 and ultrasound scores for grey scale(US-GS) and power Doppler(US-PD) in 32 joints. Quality of life was assessed using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey(SF-36). The proinflammatory effect of the total fecal microbiota on in vitro intestinal epithelial cells (HT29) was evaluated by quantifying Interleukin 8, using ELISA.

Results: The MedDiet+ group showed significant improvements in Body Mass Index (p<0.001) and FM (p=0.016). Greater numeric reduction in disease activity indexes were observed in the intervention group compared to controls (DAS28: -0.36±0.78 vs -0.23±0.60; US-GS: -10.84±10.39 vs -1.86±10.83; US-PD: -0.96±2.4 vs 0.04±3.50), although not statistically significant. Significant differences between groups were found for three of the eight scales of the SF-36 (functional capacity: p=0.040; pain: p=0.007; general health perceptions: p=0.016). IL8 production stimulated by total fecal samples was significantly reduced by MedDiet+ (p=0.0046).

Conclusion: MedDiet+ improved nutritional status and specific quality of life domains in RA patients. Furthermore, the dietary intervention decreased the proinflammatory effect of fecal microbiota, connecting the effects of diet, microbiota and chronic inflammation in RA patients.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared