Irritable bowel syndrome symptom severity improves equally with probiotic and placebo

Table 1 Baseline demographics mean ± SD or n (%)

Characteristics	Placebo (n = 131)	Low-dose (n = 129)	High-dose (n = 131)
Age (yr)	49.4 ± 12.9	47.1 ± 13.3	47.2 ± 12.5
Gender
Male	37 (28.2)	35 (27.1)	27 (20.6)
Female	94 (71.8)	94 (72.9)	104 (79.4)
BMI (kg/m2)	24.9 ± 3.7	24.7 ± 3.7	24.5 ± 3.9
Diet
Low-carbohydrate	2 (1.5)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)
Vegetarian	1 (0.8)	2 (1.6)	0 (0.0)
Non-lactose	26 (19.8)	32 (24.8)	26 (19.8)
Regular	77 (58.8)	63 (48.8)	67 (51.1)
Probiotics
Daily user	24 (18.3)	25 (19.4)	18 (13.7)
Irregular user	18 (13.7)	17 (13.2)	29 (22.1)
History of using	65 (49.6)	62 (48.1)	66 (50.4)
No use	23 (17.6)	25 (19.4)	18 (13.7)
N/A	1 (0.8)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)
Exercise level
> 30 min 3 times a week	62 (47.3)	63 (48.8)	59 (45.0)
≤ 30 min 3 times a week	57 (43.5)	56 (43.4)	63 (48.1)
No exercise	12 (9.2)	10 (7.8)	9 (6.9)
Alcohol consumption
> 14 units/wk	1 (0.8)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)
≤ 14 units/wk	96 (73.3)	90 (69.8)	90 (68.7)
Non-drinker	34 (26.0)	39 (30.2)	41 (31.3)
Tobacco smoking
Current use	11 (8.4)	11 (8.5)	14 (10.7)
Never used	80 (61.1)	86 (66.7)	88 (67.2)
History of use	40 (30.5)	32 (24.8)	29 (22.1)
Drug abuse
Never used	131 (100)	129 (100)	131 (100)