Vegetarian diet in the treatment of fibromyalgia.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether excluding animal protein (vegetarian diet) could reduce pain and morbidity in fibromyalgia patients by potentially increasing brain tryptophan levels.
Results Summary
The vegetarian diet showed a small but significant reduction in pain score, but no significant improvements in fatigue, insomnia, non-restorative sleep, or tender point count. Its effects were much weaker compared to amitriptyline treatment.
Population
37 subjects with fibromyalgia in the vegetarian diet group.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
6 weeks
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
amitriptyline | decrease | fatigue frequency | subjects with fibromyalgia | from 41 to 3 subjects | significantly reduced | #1 |
amitriptyline | decrease | insomnia frequency | subjects with fibromyalgia | from 26 to 0 subjects | significantly reduced | #2 |
amitriptyline | decrease | non-restorative sleep frequency | subjects with fibromyalgia | from 32 to 0 subjects | significantly reduced | #3 |
amitriptyline | decrease | pain score | subjects with fibromyalgia | from 6.2 +/- 1.9 to 2.3 +/- 1.3 | significantly reduced | #4 |
amitriptyline | decrease | tender point count | subjects with fibromyalgia | from 16.1 +/- 2.3 to 6.4 +/- 3.0 | significantly reduced | #5 |
vegetarian diet | no change | fatigue frequency | subjects with fibromyalgia | from 36 to 34 subjects | showed insignificant change | #6 |
vegetarian diet | no change | insomnia frequency | subjects with fibromyalgia | from 24 to 29 subjects | showed insignificant change | #7 |
vegetarian diet | no change | non-restorative sleep frequency | subjects with fibromyalgia | from 27 to 29 subjects | showed insignificant change | #8 |
vegetarian diet | decrease | pain score | subjects with fibromyalgia | from 5.7 +/- 1.8 to 5.0 +/- 1.8 | significantly reduced | #9 |
vegetarian diet | no change | tender point count | subjects with fibromyalgia | from 15.7 +/- 2.4 to 14.7 +/- 3.6 | showed insignificant change | #10 |
Brain tryptophan is low in fibromyalgia. Intake of protein rich in large neutral amino acids is reported to lower brain tryptophan. This study was undertaken to assess whether any reduction of such proteins by exclusion of animal protein from the diet reduced pain and morbidity in fibromyalgia patients. It was an open, randomized controlled trial. 37 subjects with fibromyalgia were enrolled in the vegetarian diet and 41 in the amitriptyline groups. The outcome was assessed with the help of frequencies of fatigue, insomnia & non-restorative sleep, pain score on a 10-point VAS and tender point count. Fatigue, insomnia and non-restorative sleep were present in 41, 26 and 32 subjects before and in 3, 0 and 0 subjects respectively at six weeks of treatment in the amitriptyline group. The pain score and tender point count were 6.2 +/- 1.9 & 16.1 +/- 2.3 before and 2.3 +/- 1.3 & 6.4 +/- 3.0 after treatment. All these differences were significant (P < 0.001). In the vegetarian diet group, fatigue, insomnia and non-restorative sleep were present in 36, 24 and 27 subjects before and in 34, 29 and 29 subjects at six weeks of treatment. The pain score and tender point count were 5.7 +/- 1.8 and 15.7 +/- 2.4 before and 5.0 +/- 1.8 & 14.7 +/- 3.6 after treatment. All these differences were insignificant except that in the pain score. The decrease in the pain score, though significant, was much smaller than that in the amitriptyline group. So, it may be concluded that vegetarian diet is a poor option in the treatment of fibromyalgia.