Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Apr 16, 2021; 9(11): 2487-2502
Published online Apr 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i11.2487
Differences in dietary habits of people with vs without irritable bowel syndrome and their association with symptom and psychological status: A pilot study
Qiao Meng, Geng Qin, Shu-Kun Yao, Guo-Hui Fan, Fen Dong, Chang Tan
Qiao Meng, Shu-Kun Yao, Chang Tan, Graduate School, Peking University China-Japan Friendship School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
Geng Qin, Shu-Kun Yao, Department of Gastroenterology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing 100029, China
Guo-Hui Fan, Fen Dong, Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing 100029, China
Author contributions: Meng Q and Tan C performed the study, analyzed the data, and drafted the manuscript; Dong F and Fan GH gave guidance to data processing; Qin G contributed to project design and supervised the investigation progress; Yao SK designed the study, revised the manuscript, and supervised the study performance.
Supported by The National Key Technology Support Program during “12th Five-Year Plan” Period of China, No. 2014BAI08B00; and the Leap-forward Development Program for Beijing Biopharmaceutical Industry (G20), No. Z171100001717008.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of China-Japan Friendship Hospital (No. 2015-33).
Informed consent statement: All study participants provided written informed consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors report no conflicts of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shu-Kun Yao, MD, PhD, Professor, Graduate School, Peking University China-Japan Friendship School of Clinical Medicine, No. 2 Yinghua East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China. shukunyao@126.com
Received: December 5, 2020
Peer-review started: December 5, 2020
First decision: December 24, 2020
Revised: December 28, 2020
Accepted: February 19, 2021
Article in press: February 19, 2021
Published online: April 16, 2021
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Previous studies have demonstrated that dietary factors could induce or aggravate irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms, which was evaluated mostly based on food frequency questionnaire. This study investigated the dietary habits between IBS patients and non-IBS participants from food categories, quantity per time, and intake frequency.

Research motivation

Our study aimed to explore the dietary differences between IBS patients and non-IBS participants from dietary categories, intake frequency, and quantity each time. These differences might be helpful for dietary guidance in the treatment of IBS.

Research objectives

To explore differences in dietary habits of people with vs without IBS and their correlation with symptom and psychological status.

Research methods

The participants were evaluated using multiple questionnaires (dietary questionnaire, IBS symptom severity scale (IBS-SSS), IBS quality of life, visceral sensitivity index, hospital anxiety and depression score (HADS), and gastrointestinal symptom rating scale) to obtain clinical and psychological characteristics. These parameters were analyzed with SPSS version 26.0.

Research results

In this study, patients with IBS consumed more soybean and its products, spicy food, and dry-fried nuts in terms of quantity per time and intake frequency. They were positively associated with IBS-SSS, HADS anxiety score, and HADS depression score. Besides, seafood, soft drinks, vegetables, and fruits differed only in quantity per time. The intake frequencies of egg, barbecue, and coarse grain were statistically different. We also found that the intake frequency of soybean and its products (≥ 7 t/wk) was an independent risk factor for IBS.

Research conclusions

The dietary habits differ between IBS patients and non-IBS participants. The intake frequency and quantity per time of soybean and its products, spicy foods, and dry-fried nuts are positively associated with clinical and psychological status, and the intake frequency of soybean is a risk factor for IBS. These results suggest that some foods play a potential role in the occurrence and development of IBS.

Research perspectives

We preliminarily explored the dietary differences between the two groups. However, some limitations existed in this study. Further studies should refine scale, expand the sample size, and adopt a prospective study design to delve into the role of diet in IBS in the future.