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Vegetarian and Vegan Diet in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review.

International journal of environmental research and public health
May 6, 2021
Yolanda Nadal-Nicolás et al. (6 authors)
Journal ArticleReviewSystematic ReviewHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to review scientific evidence on the effects of vegetarian or vegan diets on fibromyalgia patients, focusing on symptom improvement and quality of life.

Results Summary

The study found that plant-based diets led to significant improvements in biochemical parameters, quality of life, sleep quality, pain at rest, and general health status in fibromyalgia patients, though methodological limitations were noted.

Population

Fibromyalgia patients, predominantly women.

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (5)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
following a vegetarian or vegan diet
increase
biochemical parameters
fibromyalgia patients
-
show significant improvements
#1
following a vegetarian or vegan diet
increase
quality of life
fibromyalgia patients
-
show significant improvements
#2
following a vegetarian or vegan diet
increase
quality of sleep
fibromyalgia patients
-
show significant improvements
#3
following a vegetarian or vegan diet
decrease
pain at rest
fibromyalgia patients
-
show significant improvements
#4
following a vegetarian or vegan diet
increase
general health status
fibromyalgia patients
-
show significant improvements
#5
Abstract

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic non-degenerative disease characterized by the presence of multiple symptoms such as chronic pain, which negatively influence the quality of life of sufferers, most of whom are women. Currently, there is no effective treatment to limit the impact of these symptoms. The aim of this research is to review the scientific evidence on the effect of following a vegetarian or vegan diet on fibromyalgia patients. A systematic review included the original articles that answered the research question. These articles were in 2021 in the PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases. The research used the PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) guidelines. No time restriction was applied, and grey literature was not included. The evaluation of the methodological quality of the articles was carried out using the following different scales: STROBE (strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology), PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database), and MMAT (Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool) scales. A total of 88 studies were analyzed, of which 6 investigations were included in this systematic review (n = 4 clinical trials and n = 2 cohort studies). These investigations show significant improvements in biochemical parameters, quality of life, quality of sleep, pain at rest and general health status when following mainly plant-based dietary patterns. In conclusion, these findings are promising but interpretation of the findings is limited due to the methodological quality of the studies. Well-designed clinical trials are needed to consolidate these dietary recommendations in FM patients.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
DietDiet, VeganFemaleFibromyalgiaHumansMaleQuality of LifeVegetarians
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality70/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations21
Citations/Year5.3
Relative Citation Ratio2.69
NIH Percentile82.6%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.95
Weight Score2.41
Normalized Score0.64
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