Maintenance of diet participation in individuals with spinal cord injury: effect on mood and neuropathic pain

This study investigated whether individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) could maintain an anti-inflammatory diet one year after a 3-month intervention and how this affected their neuropathic pain and mood. Five participants who completed a 3-month anti-inflammatory diet were reassessed after one year for dietary compliance, depression, and neuropathic pain. The study found that diet compliance decreased significantly at the 1-year follow-up, and improvements in mood were lost. However, improvements in sensory pain were maintained.

• 1
  Diet compliance significantly decreased from 92.6% at 3 months to 43.0% at the 1-year follow-up (p < 0.01).
• 2
  CES-D scores, indicating depression, showed a trend toward an increase from 3 months to follow-up (p = 0.10), returning to baseline levels.
• 3
  Sensory NPQ scores remained significantly lower than baseline at the 1-year follow-up (p = 0.02), indicating maintained improvement in sensory pain.