Key clinical point: Higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet may help reduce disease impact, disease activity, and functional disability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Major finding: Patients with high vs low adherence to the Mediterranean diet had significantly lower Disease Activity Score of 28 Joints calculated with C-reactive protein (median 2.29 vs 3.27; P = .038), Health Assessment Questionnaire score (median 0.56 vs 1.00; P = .027), and Rheumatoid Arthritis Impact of Disease questionnaire score (median 3.51 vs 5.65; P = .032).
Study details: Findings are from a cross-sectional observational study including 120 patients with RA.
Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Charneca S et al. The Mediterranean diet, and not dietary inflammatory index, is associated with rheumatoid arthritis disease activity, the impact of disease and functional disability. Eur J Nutr. 2023 (Jun 24). Doi: 10.1007/s00394-023-03196-8