Effect of anti-inflammatory diets on health-related quality of life in adults with chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory diets on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adults with at least one chronic disease.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs).Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and the Coch...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alessio Bricca, Joshua J Heerey, Søren Thorgaard Skou, Adam G Culvenor, Joanne Kemp, Alysha M De Livera, Peter Brukner, Lynette Law, Brooke L Devlin, Amanda Attanayake
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group
Series:BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health
Online Access:https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/early/2025/06/10/bmjnph-2025-001257.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849468928125829120
author Alessio Bricca
Joshua J Heerey
Søren Thorgaard Skou
Adam G Culvenor
Joanne Kemp
Alysha M De Livera
Peter Brukner
Lynette Law
Brooke L Devlin
Amanda Attanayake
author_facet Alessio Bricca
Joshua J Heerey
Søren Thorgaard Skou
Adam G Culvenor
Joanne Kemp
Alysha M De Livera
Peter Brukner
Lynette Law
Brooke L Devlin
Amanda Attanayake
author_sort Alessio Bricca
collection DOAJ
description Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory diets on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adults with at least one chronic disease.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs).Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and the Cochrane Centre Register of Controlled Trials from inception to 6 May 2024.Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Full-text RCTs published in English assessing the effectiveness of any anti-inflammatory dietary intervention (ie, a diet that emphasises the intake of nutrient-rich, minimally processed foods rich in polyphenols, carotenoids and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and limits highly-processed, pro-inflammatory foods) on HRQOL in adults with at least one chronic disease were included.Methods Data extraction, risk-of-bias assessments and strength-of-evidence assessments were done by two independent reviewers. Pooled effects (standardised mean difference (SMD)) for HRQOL (separated into mental and physical component scores wherever possible) were calculated using random effects models with restricted maximum likelihood estimations. Subgroup analyses and meta-regressions were performed to assess the influence of study-level characteristics on HRQOL outcomes.Results 23 studies reporting HRQOL for 3294 participants were included. The most common chronic diseases were type two diabetes, musculoskeletal conditions and cardiovascular conditions. Anti-inflammatory diets were associated with small improvements in HRQOL physical component scores compared with usual care/other dietary interventions (18 trials, SMD=0.17, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.27) but not in mental component scores (18 trials, SMD=0.09, 95% CI −0.02 to 0.20) or general HRQOL scores (four trials, SMD=0.27, 95% CI −0.22 to 0.77). Pooled effects did not differ by available study-level characteristics; however, diet-only interventions (compared with multi-component interventions) had a greater effect on mental component scores. No study met the Cochrane criteria for low risk of bias. Certainty of evidence was low for physical and mental HRQOL scores and very low for general HRQOL scores.Conclusions In adults with at least one chronic disease, anti-inflammatory diets lead to small improvements in physical component HRQOL, which may not be clinically relevant. No effect was found on the mental component or general HRQOL. Further high-quality RCTs may change this conclusion.
format Article
id doaj-art-82bc87eb6fe9462fbec0f5f329752f8e
institution Kabale University
issn 2516-5542
language English
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health
spelling doaj-art-82bc87eb6fe9462fbec0f5f329752f8e2025-08-20T03:25:42ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health2516-554210.1136/bmjnph-2025-001257Effect of anti-inflammatory diets on health-related quality of life in adults with chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysisAlessio Bricca0Joshua J Heerey1Søren Thorgaard Skou2Adam G Culvenor3Joanne Kemp4Alysha M De Livera5Peter Brukner6Lynette Law7Brooke L Devlin8Amanda Attanayake9The Research and Implementation Unit PROgrez, Department of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Næstved-Slagelse-Ringsted Hospitals, Slagelse, DenmarkLa Trobe Sports Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Bundoora, Victoria, AustraliaCenter for Muscle and Joint Health, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark4 La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, La Trobe University School of Allied Health Human Services and Sport, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia7 La Trobe Sports Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia1 Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaLa Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaLa Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaSchool of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, AustraliaLa Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaObjective To evaluate the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory diets on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adults with at least one chronic disease.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs).Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and the Cochrane Centre Register of Controlled Trials from inception to 6 May 2024.Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Full-text RCTs published in English assessing the effectiveness of any anti-inflammatory dietary intervention (ie, a diet that emphasises the intake of nutrient-rich, minimally processed foods rich in polyphenols, carotenoids and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and limits highly-processed, pro-inflammatory foods) on HRQOL in adults with at least one chronic disease were included.Methods Data extraction, risk-of-bias assessments and strength-of-evidence assessments were done by two independent reviewers. Pooled effects (standardised mean difference (SMD)) for HRQOL (separated into mental and physical component scores wherever possible) were calculated using random effects models with restricted maximum likelihood estimations. Subgroup analyses and meta-regressions were performed to assess the influence of study-level characteristics on HRQOL outcomes.Results 23 studies reporting HRQOL for 3294 participants were included. The most common chronic diseases were type two diabetes, musculoskeletal conditions and cardiovascular conditions. Anti-inflammatory diets were associated with small improvements in HRQOL physical component scores compared with usual care/other dietary interventions (18 trials, SMD=0.17, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.27) but not in mental component scores (18 trials, SMD=0.09, 95% CI −0.02 to 0.20) or general HRQOL scores (four trials, SMD=0.27, 95% CI −0.22 to 0.77). Pooled effects did not differ by available study-level characteristics; however, diet-only interventions (compared with multi-component interventions) had a greater effect on mental component scores. No study met the Cochrane criteria for low risk of bias. Certainty of evidence was low for physical and mental HRQOL scores and very low for general HRQOL scores.Conclusions In adults with at least one chronic disease, anti-inflammatory diets lead to small improvements in physical component HRQOL, which may not be clinically relevant. No effect was found on the mental component or general HRQOL. Further high-quality RCTs may change this conclusion.https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/early/2025/06/10/bmjnph-2025-001257.full
spellingShingle Alessio Bricca
Joshua J Heerey
Søren Thorgaard Skou
Adam G Culvenor
Joanne Kemp
Alysha M De Livera
Peter Brukner
Lynette Law
Brooke L Devlin
Amanda Attanayake
Effect of anti-inflammatory diets on health-related quality of life in adults with chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health
title Effect of anti-inflammatory diets on health-related quality of life in adults with chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full Effect of anti-inflammatory diets on health-related quality of life in adults with chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_fullStr Effect of anti-inflammatory diets on health-related quality of life in adults with chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed Effect of anti-inflammatory diets on health-related quality of life in adults with chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_short Effect of anti-inflammatory diets on health-related quality of life in adults with chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_sort effect of anti inflammatory diets on health related quality of life in adults with chronic disease a systematic review and meta analysis
url https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/early/2025/06/10/bmjnph-2025-001257.full
work_keys_str_mv AT alessiobricca effectofantiinflammatorydietsonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeinadultswithchronicdiseaseasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT joshuajheerey effectofantiinflammatorydietsonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeinadultswithchronicdiseaseasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT sørenthorgaardskou effectofantiinflammatorydietsonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeinadultswithchronicdiseaseasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT adamgculvenor effectofantiinflammatorydietsonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeinadultswithchronicdiseaseasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT joannekemp effectofantiinflammatorydietsonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeinadultswithchronicdiseaseasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT alyshamdelivera effectofantiinflammatorydietsonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeinadultswithchronicdiseaseasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT peterbrukner effectofantiinflammatorydietsonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeinadultswithchronicdiseaseasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT lynettelaw effectofantiinflammatorydietsonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeinadultswithchronicdiseaseasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT brookeldevlin effectofantiinflammatorydietsonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeinadultswithchronicdiseaseasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT amandaattanayake effectofantiinflammatorydietsonhealthrelatedqualityoflifeinadultswithchronicdiseaseasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis