Open AccessThe Lifestyle Eating and Performance (LEAP) Program for Improving Quality of Life in Women With PCOS: A Pilot Study of Dietitian-Directed Therapy
Author(s) -
Nadine Braunstein,
Michal Hogan,
Rafael Diaz Escamilla
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
current developments in nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2475-2991
DOI - 10.1093/cdn/nzab061_007
Subject(s) - medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , institutional review board , physical therapy , polycystic ovary , descriptive statistics , analysis of variance , gerontology , obesity , nursing , surgery , insulin resistance , statistics , mathematics
Objectives To investigate the effectiveness of the Lifestyle Eating and Performance (LEAP) program for reducing health-related Quality of Life (QoL) symptoms in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted of PCOS clients seen by registered dietitians from a private group practice during 2010–2018. The in-vitro Leukocyte Activation Assay (LAA-MRT) was used to identify hidden non-immunoglobulin E (non-IgE) mediated food allergies and chemical sensitivities. The registered dietitians developed a patient-tailored oligoantigenic diet program for each subject. The LEAP program is an elimination diet built on the selection of less reactive food and chemicals based on the LAA-MRT results. A symptom survey was used to assess the QoL at the first visit and each follow-up visit. The severity of symptoms over the past month was recorded and quantified based on the frequency of the symptoms from a scale of 0 (low) to 4 (high) with a minimum score of 0 and a maximum of 248 points. Descriptive statistics were created and reported as means for continuous variables. Mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using R Studio Version 1.1.414 . The study received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval by California State University Sacramento. Results Subjects’ (n = 42) mean age was 35.2 years, and BMI was 34.4 kg/m2. The mean symptoms score at baseline was 72.5. After a personal eating plan was implemented based on the LAA-MRT results (mean 18.1 days following the plan), scores reduced to 29.3 (P < 0.001). The mean score at the second follow-up (mean 44.1 days) was 19.9 (P < 0.001), and at the third (mean 60.0 days) was 14.7 (P < 0.001). Conclusions Findings from this pilot study highlight that a comprehensive, tailored dietary program can effectively achieve improvements in QoL for women living with PCOS. Funding Sources There was no funding for this research.