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Effect of fruit smoothie supplementation on psychological distress among people with substance use disorders receiving opioid agonist therapy: Protocol for a randomised controlled trial (FruktBAR)
Poor dietary habits are prevalent in individuals suffering from substance use disorders, for example, lower intake of fruits and vegetables, which deprives them of the positive impact on physical and psychological health gained from consuming fruits and vegetables. Recent evidence demonstrated the potential of fruit smoothie supplements on improving the health status of opioid-dependent individuals undergoing rehabilitation therapy. In this multicenter, randomized controlled trial by Fadness et al. (2022) termed FruktBAR, the authors aim to evaluate the impact of supplementing the diet of individuals receiving opioid agonist therapy to treat opioid dependence with a fruit smoothie intervention compared to treatment standards. With a target to investigate 302 individuals on opioid agonist therapy, the authors aim to administer a daily fruit smoothie supplement (250 ml smoothie containing pineapple, apple, banana, mango, blueberry, orange, coconut, passion fruit, blackcurrant, and lime) and evaluate the participants for psychological distress using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL-10) after 16 weeks, comparing the results to the control population on standard care. In addition, physical functioning (4-minutes step-test), perceived fatigue, health-related quality of life, biochemical indicators of fruit intake, and inflammation will be documented for further analysis. The authors intend to discover the benefits or drawbacks of fruit smoothie interventions as adjuvant treatment options for the standards of care currently available in practice. Should the intervention prove beneficial, further studies would be warranted. [NPID: Addiction, opioid, dietary supplement, fruit smoothie, adults, psychological health, rehabilitation]
Year: 2022
