PP025 - EFFECT OF THE DASH DIET ON TREATMENT OUTCOMES IN ADULTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

PP025

EFFECT OF THE DASH DIET ON TREATMENT OUTCOMES IN ADULTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

G. Özüpek^1,*, I. S. ALTAY¹, Z. B. KALYONCU ATASOY², E. S. TORUN³

¹Nutrition and Dietetics, Istanbul Health and Technology University, Istanbul, ²Nutrition and Dietetics, Health Sciences University, Ankara, ³Rheumatology, Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye

Rationale: This trial evaluates the effects of the “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)” diet on treating adult patients diagnosed with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is derived from the author’s PhD thesis.

Methods: Participants were recruited from two rheumatology outpatient clinics in Istanbul. In this randomized controlled trial, 49 patients were assigned to intervention (n=24) or control (n=25) groups. The intervention group followed a 12-week DASH diet individualized by basal metabolic rate and physical activity level, while the control group maintained their usual diet. Disease activity scores (DAS-28), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), visual analog scales for pain and general health (VAS), health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), short form-36 health survey (SF-36), and DASH diet score were assessed. Measurements were performed at baseline and at weeks 4, 8, and 12. Statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 27.

Results: The mean age of participants was 51.67±10.29 years and 81.6% were female. DASH diet adherence was higher in the intervention group at weeks 4, 8, and 12 compared with controls (p<0.05). ESR significantly decreased in the intervention group compared with controls at weeks 4 and 12 (p<0.05), whereas CRP levels showed a decreasing trend without statistical significance (p>0.05). DAS-28 ESR scores showed significant reductions in the intervention group from baseline and versus controls at weeks 4, 8, and 12 (p<0.05). DAS-28 CRP, VAS general health (weeks 8 and 12), and VAS pain (week 12) scores were favorably affected compared with controls (p<0.05). HAQ scores and several SF-36 subscale scores improved over time in the intervention group, particularly at week 12 (p<0.05). 

Conclusion: The DASH diet may contribute to RA management by reducing inflammation and improving disease activity, pain, and quality of life.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared