Changes in dietary habits of patients with chronic pain represent contributing factors to decreased pain intensity and improved quality of life. Pilot study from Croatia

Introduction: chronic pain is a complex entity with immense individual and societal burden. Objectives: to assess the effectiveness of specifically designed nutrition education for the management of chronic pain and whether any change in dietary habits contribute to decrease in pain intensity. Objectives and methods: 40 patients were enrolled in the 4-week intervention study. Patients filled-in questionaires regarding their basic characteristics, pain intensity, quality of life, and dietary habits at baseline and post-intervention. Intervention consisted of 1 individual and 2 group counselings based on the nutrition education specifically designed for the chronic pain management. Results: post-intervention, pain intensity decreased in 67.5 % of patients while quality of life improved significantly (from 42.9 +/- 31.3 to 70.1 +/- 26.2 points, p = 0.015). All patients responded to nutrition education by increasing the number of meals per day (p < 0.001), improving regularity of breakfast (p = 0.005) and by less frequently skipping meals (p = 0.027). Fewer meal skipping (OR = 0.037, 95 % CI (0.003-0.482), p = 0.012) and lower consumption of foods with negative effect on chronic pain (OR = 0.008, 95 % CI (0.000-0.444), p = 0.019) were found to modestly, but independently contribute to decrease in pain intensity. Still, patients with higher BMI and several diagnoses had low response. Conclusions: the developed nutrition education is fit for the management of chronic pain. The main benefits are improved meal consumption pattern along with reduced consumption of foods with pro-inflammatory effect and food cravings. The complexity of chronic pain is obvious in low responsiveness among patients with higher BMI and several conditions.