STUDY REVEALS MEDITERRANEAN DIET LINKED TO RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS BENEFITS

Adopting a Mediterrean diet, rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), could help suppress disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients, according to researchers from Osaka City University in Japan.  They said a study of more than 400 people revealed a significantly lower intake of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and meat in the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients than in control group. 

They analysed data from the prospective TOMORROW cohort study of patients with and without RA that started during 2010 and will conclude in 2020.  The study included 208 patients with RA and 205 without RA, age and sex matched healthy volunteers.  Food and nutrient intake was assessed using a self-administered diet history questionnaire, while Mediterrean diet scores were calculated based on intake and disease activity.  

The study found that intake of MUFA, SFA, alcohol, pulses, other vegetables, total vegetables, meat, milk, and other dairy products, key components of the Mediterrean diet, were significantly lower in the RA than the control group.  Furthermore, meat intake significantly and negatively correlated with a swollen joint count.  The study concluded that increasing daily MUFA intake might suppress disease activity in patients with RA but cautioned that the results might not be generalizable because the study population included only Japanese participants most of whom were women, especially elderly women, because of the epidemiology of RA.