Follow-up of patients with functional bowel symptoms treated with a low FODMAP diet

Table 1 Dietary adherence at follow-up, estimated by the FODMAP adherence report scale n (%)

FARS questions	All patients	IBD	IBS
“I change the content of a LFD meal despite the recommended content”	57 (35)	12 (28)	45 (37)
“I follow a modified LFD compared to the recommended LFD”	61 (37)	15 (34)	46 (38)
“I replace a LFD meal with a regular meal containing FODMAPs”	90 (55)	27 (63)	63 (53)
“I forget to follow the LFD”	111 (68)	33 (75)	78 (65)
“I stop taking the LFD for a period of time”	107 (65)	34 (77)	73 (61)

Each of the FARS questions had five possible responses, scoring 1-5 points. A score of ≥ 4 points was regarded as adherence to the LFD. FARS: FODMAP adherence report scale; IBD: Inflammatory bowel disease; IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome; LFD: Low FODMAP diet; FODMAPs: Fermentable oligo-, di- and monosaccharides and polyols.

Table 2 Demographic data at follow-up n (%)

	IBS	IBD
Patients	131 (73)	49 (27)
Participation in eHealth studies	63 (48)	40 (82)
IBD type
UC		32 (65)
CD		12 (25)
IBDU		5 (10)
Female	107 (82)	40 (82)
Age, median (range)	43 (18-85)	44 (19-70)
Height, median (range)	168 (133-189)	171 (160-189)
Weight, median (range)	65 (43-115)	75 (49-146)
BMI, median (range)	23 (16-45)	25 (18-53)
Smokers	15 (14)	5 (12)
IBS subtypes
IBS-D	47 (40)	28 (67)
IBS-C	44 (37)	6 (14)
IBS-M	17 (14)	3 (7)
IBS-U	10 (9)	5 (12)
IBS disease severity
Mild	41 (32)	23 (53)
Moderate	56 (43)	14 (33)
Severe	32 (25)	6 (14)
Lactose intolerance1	18 (25)	1 (6)
Gluten intolerance2	2 (2)	1 (8)
Food allergy3	5 (24)	5 (42)
Dietary consultations
None	4 (4)	0 (0)
1	30 (28)	14 (33)
2	33 (30)	22 (53)
3 or more	41 (38)	6 (14)
Follow-up time, median (range)	15 (2-80)	17 (5-32)

¹Diagnosed by lactose intolerance test or genetic test of lactase;

²Diagnosed by serologic test for immunoglobulin A tissue transaminase;

³Diagnosed by serologic tests for specific immunoglobulins. IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome; IBD: Inflammatory bowel disease; UC: Ulcerative colitis; CD: Crohn’s disease; IBDU: Undetermined inflammatory bowel disease; BMI: Body mass index; IBS-D: IBS with diarrhoea; IBS-C: IBS with constipation; IBS-M: Mixed IBS; IBS-U: Unsubtyped IBS.