Association of Dietary Patterns and Indicators of Disease Activity in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

An appropriate dietary pattern plays important role in the control and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Accordingly، this study aimed to investigate the association between dietary patterns and indicators of disease activity in patients with RA. This cross-sectional research studied 102 patients with RA attending to the professional Rheumatology Clinic of Ahvaz Aria Hospital in 2012. Data were collected by using demographic، anthropometric and semi-quantitative food frequency (FFQ) questionnaires. The patients’ Pain intensity was evaluated by VAS index and CRP and RF levels were measured in fasting blood samples. Then data analysis was performed by SPSS software (version 17) using independent t-test، analysis of covariance، and multivariate linear regression analysis. In this study، three major dietary patterns were identified: healthy dietary pattern، Western pattern، and High-protein pattern. After adjusting of the confounding variables، healthy dietary pattern was associated with lower body mass index (BMI)، waist circumference، pain intensity، and C-reactive protein levels (P<0. 05). On the other hand، Western dietary pattern showed a positive correlation with BMI، waist circumference، body fat percentage، and pain intensity (P<0. 05). In High-protein dietary pattern، the patients، who were in the highest tertile، significantly reported lower pain intensity (P=0. 007). Adherence to a healthy dietary pattern، which includes high amount of fruits، vegetables، beans، garlic، olive and nuts، can lead to improvement of disease condition in RA patients.