Mediterranean diet intervention for patients with hyperuricemia: a pilot study

Dietary interventions have been suggested to be a safe cost-efficient way to control hyperuricemia. The aim of the study is to assess the potential of mediterranean diet as intervention to control the level of urate in patients with hyperuricemia in a small sample of patients. Patients with asymptomatic hyperuricemia were recruited from outpatient clinics and were enrolled into personal Mediterranean diet-based programs. Body mass index (BMI), serum urate, lipid profile and indirect calorimetry were measured at the beginning and then monthly for the first 3 months and then at the sixth month. At the same time, patients' compliance with the Mediterranean diet was assessed by a formal interview and standard questionnaire. Only six out of twelve patients managed to complete the diet (dropout rate 50 %). Their BMI remained constant during the trial period in the level of 1st degree obesity (BMI = 31.46). The mean value of serum urate at the beginning of the study was 9.12 mg/dl. After the first month, there was a reduction in urate by 20 % with mean urate at 6.92 mg/dl. The second, third and sixth month mean urate levels were 6.32, 6.1 and 6.4 mg/dl, respectively. The effect of the mediterranean diet was rapid at the first month and remained constant throughout the dietary intervention, suggesting that it might have a clinically significant effect on urate level thus providing a cost-efficient and safe alternative to pharmaceutical intervention as first-line treatment of hyperuricemia.