Diet particularities in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Background & aims: There are insufficient published data on the dietary practices of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and studies examining relationships between specific foods and IBS symptoms are particularly lacking. The extent of the avoidance of nutritionally important food groups is hard to pinpoint based on available data. The present study aimed at investigating the nutritional practices of Romanian patients with IBS. Material and methods: A questionnaire was completed by 25 IBS patients (ROME III diagnosis criteria) hospitalized in the Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology of Emergency County Hospital from Cluj-Napoca during November 2014 - June 2015. The questionnaire evaluated their perceptions of the role of diet in their symptoms, the frequency of different food groups and whether they restrict their diet according to the symptoms experienced. A similar questionnaire was used to investigate the perceptions of 25 healthy subjects not fulfilling IBS criteria. Results: The majority of the patients presented diarrhea (84%) and abdominal pain (76%). Food was considered to cause or worsen the symptoms in 96% of IBS patients compared to 44% of healthy subjects (P < 0.001). Patients with IBS reported changing their diet to minimize symptoms compared to healthy controls (86% versus 36%, P < 0.001). Fruits and vegetables were the most frequently restricted (40%). Sweets (36%) and coffee (36%), also featured prominently, followed by dairy foods (28%). None of the IBS patients sought professional healthcare and nutritional advice. Conclusion: Patients with IBS tend to restrict their consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, sweets, coffee and to reduce dairy products consumption compared with subjects without IBS. None of the patients seek nutritional advice, possibly exposing themselves to nutritional deficiency.