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. 2024 Sep 14;10(18):e37705.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37705. eCollection 2024 Sep 30.

Effect of Mediterranean diet on body mass index and fatigue severity in patients with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Amir Reza Moravejolahkami  1 , Mehdi Shakibaei  2 , Manoj Sharma  3   4 , Masoud Mohammadnezhad  5 , Sri Lakshmi Sravani Devarakonda  6
Affiliations

Effect of Mediterranean diet on body mass index and fatigue severity in patients with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Amir Reza Moravejolahkami et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Background: Recent studies imply that Mediterranean Diet (MeD) may play an important role in the management of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of MeD in addressing MS-related complications.

Methods: A thorough search was performed in MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and the Central Cochrane Library, covering trials published until September 2023. The quantitative data were synthesized using random effect models through STATA14.

Results: After analyzing 228 entries, we found five Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) with a total of 540 participants, who had an average disease duration of 8.5 years. The combined effect size revealed a decrease in Body Mass Index (BMI) (Weighted Mean Difference [WMD] = -0.88 kg/m2; 95 % Confidence Interval [CI] = -1.68, -0.08; P = 0.030). There was also a non-significant marginal improvement in fatigue severity (WMD = -8.29; 95 % CI = -16.74, 0.16; P = 0.054).

Conclusion: Adherence to MeD may improve BMI and fatigue severity in MS patients. Further RCTs are needed to confirm the current results.

Keywords: Fatigue; Mediterranean diet; Meta‐analysis; Multiple sclerosis; Systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram describing the included and excluded studies.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Risk of bias assessment for the meta-analyzed RCTs.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
This plot depicts the results of randomized controlled trials assessing the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet on Body Mass Index (BMI) in individuals diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Each square's size corresponds to the inverse of the Weighted Mean Difference (WMD) variance. The horizontal lines represent the 95 % Confidence Intervals (CIs). The pooled effect size indicates a reduction in BMI subsequent to the Mediterranean diet intervention, with a statistically significant result (P = 0.030).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
This plot depicts the results of randomized controlled trials assessing the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet on Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) in individuals diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Each square's size corresponds to the inverse of the Weighted Mean Difference (WMD) variance. The horizontal lines represent the 95 % Confidence Intervals (CIs). The pooled effect size showed that Mediterranean diet marginally reduces fatigue severity in a NON-significant manner (P = 0.054).
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