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Healthy dietary patterns improve sexual function and incontinence symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis of dietary patterns and dietary interventions
Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD), encompassing urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and sexual dysfunction, significantly diminishes quality of life. This systematic review investigates the relationship between healthy dietary patterns and PFD, aiming to provide a scientific foundation for dietary interventions in clinical practice. Following PRISMA guidelines, databases such as PubMed, Web of Sciences, and Embase were systematically searched, yielding 493 articles across five evidence-based dietary patterns: DASH, Mediterranean, hPDI, anti-inflammatory, and pro-inflammatory diets. After rigorous screening, 31 studies met the inclusion criteria, with 14 providing sufficient quantitative data for meta-analysis. The analysis included 10 prospective studies, 17 cross-sectional studies, and 4 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), involving diabetic patients and individuals with urinary incontinence from diverse global regions. Results indicated that healthy dietary patterns significantly improved sexual dysfunction (cross-sectional studies: OR = 0.69, 95% CI [0.55, 0.85]; prospective studies: SMD = −0.6, 95% CI [−1.02, −0.17]) and incontinence symptoms (cross-sectional studies: OR = 0.77, 95% CI [0.68, 0.87]). Notably, the Mediterranean and anti-inflammatory dietary patterns correlated with a reduced risk of sexual dysfunction, while the DASH diet effectively alleviated lower urinary tract symptoms. Conversely, pro-inflammatory dietary patterns were linked to an increased risk of urinary and fecal incontinence. The findings underscore the importance of healthy, anti-inflammatory dietary patterns, particularly the Mediterranean diet, in improving PFD, suggesting the integration of dietary counseling into PFD management, especially for patients with metabolic risk factors. [NPID: Dietary patterns, incontinence, pro-inflammatory, sexual, pelvic floor dysfunction]
Year: 2025
