Targeted alterations in dietary n-3 and n-6 fatty acids improve life functioning and reduce psychological distress among patients with chronic headache: a secondary analysis of a randomized trial
Abstract
Abstract Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are precursors of bioactive lipid mediators posited to modulate both physical pain and psychological distress. In a randomized trial of 67 subjects with severe headaches, we recently demonstrated that targeted dietary manipulation—increasing omega-3 fatty acids with concurrent reduction in omega-6 linoleic acid (the H3-L6 intervention)—produced major reductions in headache compared with an omega-6 lowering (L6) intervention. Because chronic pain is often accompanied by psychological distress and impaired health-related quality of life (HRQOL), we used data from this trial to examine whether the H3-L6 intervention favorably impacted these domains. Additionally, we examined the effect of the interventions on the number of cases with substantial physical or mental impairments as defined by cutoff values in the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18), Medical Outcomes Study Short Forms 12 (SF-12), Headache Impact Test (HIT-6), and the number of headache days per month. In the intention-to-treat analysis, participants in the H3-L6 group experienced statistically significant reductions in psychological distress (BSI-18 mean difference: −6.56; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −11.43 to −1.69) and improvements in SF-12 mental (mean difference: 6.01; 95% CI: 0.57 to 11.45) and physical (mean difference: 6.65; 95% CI: 2.14 to 11.16) health summary scores. At 12 weeks, the proportion of subjects experiencing substantial impairment according to cutoff…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a secondary / pooled analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 67 participants or records.
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