Food intolerance, diet composition, and eating patterns in functional dyspepsia patients

Abstract

The aims of this study are to investigate dietary factors, food intolerance, and the body mass index data, as an indicator of nutritional status, in functional dyspepsia patients. Forty-one functional dyspepsia patients and 30 healthy volunteers answered a standardized questionnaire to identify eating habits and food intolerance, and then completed a 7-day alimentary diary. There was no significant difference in daily total caloric intake between patients and controls. Patients associated their symptoms with the ingestion of several foods, but in general maintained their regular intake, with the exception of a small reduction in the proportion of fat in comparison with controls (median 28 vs. 34%; P = 0.001). No patient was underweight. In conclusion, our results suggest that food intolerance has no remarkable influence on food pattern and nutritional status in most functional dyspepsia patients. Further studies are necessary to clarify the role of fat in the generation of dyspeptic symptoms.