Abstract
Objective To investigate long-term dietary changes after rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosis in Swedish women, compared to women without RA. Methods This study included 21,602 women from the Swedish Mammography Cohort (SMC), who completed dietary questionnaires in 1997 and 2009. Between 1997 and 2009, 191 women were diagnosed with RA. Dietary changes after RA diagnosis were analyzed based on intake of 82 food items. Statistical analysis included linear mixed models. Results Women with RA, compared to women without RA, had significantly lower intake (mean servings per week) of animal products such as black pudding, egg, kidney, and liver paste (2.94±2.73 versus 2.45±1.82, p=0.010) and dairy products (35.14±20.02 versus 28.42±16.10, p=0.040) in 1997 and of cereals and grains (31.01±15.54 versus 28.00±14.98, p=0.009) in 2009. However, multivariable adjusted changes in dietary intake from 1997 to 2009 did not show any significant difference in intake. Nevertheless, women without RA increased their intake of whole wheat bread, wheat/oat bran, and rice more than women with RA. Conclusion Women who had been diagnosed with RA had similar dietary patterns over time as the general population; these women did not remarkably change their diet over time due to their disease. Dietary recommendations for RA patients are needed.
Highlights
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease with unknown cause
Women who had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) had similar dietary patterns over time as the general population; these women did not remarkably change their diet over time due to their disease
This study focused on 82 common food items that were included in both food frequency questionnaires (FFQ); all the food items were categorized into thirteen categories
Summary
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease with unknown cause. There are relatively low levels of evidence of dietary impact on the course of RA Certain specific diets, such as vegetarian, Mediterranean, vegan, and gluten-free diet, have been shown to ameliorate to some extent the disease status of RA [3,4,5,6,7,8]. The Mediterranean diet encourages increased intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, fatty fish, and olive oil and reduced/moderate intake of red meat and dairy products [9]. Omega-3 fatty acids from either diet or supplements have been associated with decreased disease activity in RA through anti-inflammatory mechanisms [3, 14,15,16]. Higher dietary intake of omega fatty acids has been associated with decreased serum levels of tumor necrosis factor and C-reactive protein in RA [17]
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