A New Approach to Nutritional Therapy in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Evaluation of the Effect of the DASH Diet Through a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
In this study, it is aimed to determine the effect of the DASH diet model on the treatment of patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis, by evaluating its potential impact on inflammatory markers, disease activity scores, patients' functional status in daily life, and quality of life. This study is being conducted as part of a doctoral dissertation, and due to insufficient initial awareness regarding the requirement for prior registration, the registration process was completed after data collection had already begun. However, data collection is still ongoing, and the study has not yet been completed. We remain committed to full compliance with clinical trial reporting standards and transparency.
• Voluntary acceptance to participate in the study, Being within the age range of 18-64 years, Having a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis according to the 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) classification criteria and belonging to the seropositive rheumatoid arthritis subgroup, Being in the active phase of rheumatoid arthritis according to the DAS-28 CRP or DAS-28 ESR disease activity score, Having a disease duration of at least 1 year, Not having previously undergone any dietary treatment specific to rheumatoid arthritis, Not using any dietary supplements other than calcium and vitamin D3 supplementation (e.g., 1000 mg calcium, 880 IU vitamin D3) recommended by the physician for patients using glucocorticoids and folic acid supplementation (10 mg weekly) recommended for patients using methotrexate, Having stable use of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (≥3 months), corticosteroids (≥4 weeks), and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (≥10 days) before starting the DASH diet treatment, with a daily oral corticosteroid dose not exceeding 12.5 mg of prednisolone, Not having a diagnosis of eating disorders, Not being pregnant or breastfeeding, Not using banned substances, Having no intellectual disability, Having no allergy and/or intolerance to the foods included in the DASH diet