Relationship between diet and ankylosing spondylitis: a systematic review

The question of whether diet plays a role in the onset of Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), or can affect the course of disease is an important one for many patients and health care providers. The aims of the study were to investigate whether: 1) patients with AS report different diet to those without; 2) amongst patients with AS diet is related to severity; 3) persons with particular diets are less likely to develop AS; 4) specific dietary interventions improve symptoms of AS. The review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library and reference lists of relevant articles were searched. Two authors independently selected eligible studies, assessed quality of included trials and extracted data. Sixteen studies (9 observational and 7 intervention) were included in the review. Due to the heterogeneity of study designs and analyses, the results could not be pooled. Evidence on a possible relationship between AS and diet is extremely limited and inconclusive due to the majority of included studies being small, single studies with moderate to high risk of bias and insufficient reporting results.