MCT-modified ketogenic diet as an adjunct to standard treatment regimen could alleviate clinical symptoms in women with endometriosis

Endometriosis as a chronic gynecological condition impairs the quality of life of affected women because it usually accompanied by painful clinical symptoms such as persistent severe acyclic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, and dyschezia. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of MCT-modified ketogenic diet as an adjunct to standard treatment regimen in women with endometriosis. This is a 12-weeks randomized controlled clinical trial that was conducted on 50 patients with endometriosis who referred to Yas hospital complex infertility clinic, Tehran, Iran. Participants were randomly allocated to intervention group receiving MCT-modified ketogenic diet plus standard treatment regimen (n = 25) and control group receiving standard treatment regimen (n = 25). Clinical symptoms, anthropometric parameters, lipid profile, and serum aminotransferases were measured at the beginning and end of the study. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS version 27 software and P-value < 0.05 was regarded significant. Finally, 44 patients including 19 subjects in the intervention group and 25 subjects in the control group completed the study. Dyspareunia and dyschezia significantly reduced in the MCT-modified ketogenic diet group compared to the control group at the end of the study (P = 0.02 and P = 0.001, respectively). Also, there was a marginally significant reduction in the final values of pelvic pain (P = 0.07). However, no significant differences in the final value of anthropometric indices including weight, BMI, and WC, serum levels of TG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, and aminotransferases including ALT and AST was detected. MCT-modified ketogenic diet as an adjunct to standard treatment regimen could alleviate clinical symptoms including pelvic pain, dyspareunia, and dyschezia in women with endometriosis. Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT20131125015536N15. Registered on 24 July 2024. https://www.irct.ir/trial/78113 .