Key result
Higher DASH diet adherence linked to ~2% lower musculoskeletal disorder risk per 5-point increment.
Why the study?
Does adherence to the DASH diet reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in European populations?
Cohort (n=115,692)
Does adherence to the DASH diet reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in European populations?
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Higher adherence to the DASH diet is associated with a modestly reduced risk of incident musculoskeletal disorders, independent of genetic predisposition.
Objective To investigate the associations of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet with the incidence of overall and specific musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders, taking genetic predispositions into account. Methods Study populations included 115,692 participants. DASH diet scores were calculated using the Oxford WebQ dietary questionnaire, and poly-genetic risk scores (PRS) were calculated summing weighted risk alleles. Cox regressions were performed to evaluate the associations between DASH diet, PRS, and incidence of MSK disorders. The primary outcome was overall disease defined as any of MSK disorders. The secondary outcomes were five major specific conditions, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, low back pain, and neck pain. Results During a median follow-up period of 11.64 years, 33,230 incident cases of overall MSK disorders were observed. Each 5-point increment in the DASH diet score was associated with a modest 2–4% reduced risk of overall MSK disorders, consistent across three models (Model 1: HR = 0.96, 95%CIs = 0.95–0.97; Model 2: HR = 0.98, 95%CIs = 0.97–0.99; Model 3: HR = 0.98, 95%CIs = 0.97–0.99) as well as different genetic risk groups (low: HR = 0.95, 95%CIs = 0.87–1.03; moderate: HR = 0.98, 95%CIs = 0.94–1.03; high: HR = 0.95, 95%CIs = 0.87–1.03). No gene-diet interaction was identified. When extending to the five specific MSK disorders, a similar pattern of results was observed, except for RA and gout. Conclusions Adherence to DASH diet is associated with a modestly reduced risk of overall MSK disorders in European populations. In disease-specific analyses, protective associations were observed for OA, low back pain, and neck pain, whereas associations with RA and gout were less consistent. The protective association is broadly consistent across most genetic risk strata, although a potential interaction was noted for RA.
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Yang et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in musculoskeletal disorders (n=115,692). DASH diet score (per 5-point increment) vs. Lower DASH diet score was evaluated on overall disease defined as any of MSK disorders (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97-0.99). Each 5-point increment in the DASH diet score was associated with a 2% reduced risk of overall musculoskeletal disorders (HR 0.98; 95% CI 0.97-0.99), consistent across genetic risk groups.
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