Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 May;8(5):1691-1695.
doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_464_18.

Comparison between gluten-free regime and regime with gluten in symptoms of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Eskandar Hajiani  1 , Abdolrahim Masjedizadeh  1 , Ali Akbar Shayesteh  1 , Sina Babazadeh  1 , Seyed Saeid Seyedian  1
Affiliations

Comparison between gluten-free regime and regime with gluten in symptoms of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Eskandar Hajiani et al. J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 May.

Abstract

Background and objective: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common gastrointestinal disorder and accounts for most of the referrals of patients to gastroenterologists. Given the high prevalence of this syndrome and its significant effect on the reduced quality of life of patients, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of using gluten-containing or gluten-free diet on symptoms of patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Materials and methods: In this trial, 140 patients with irritable bowel syndrome who referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital (2006) were randomly divided into two groups based on Rome III criteria. Seventy patients received a gluten-free diet and rest patent received a regular diet as control group for 12 weeks. In order to compare the quantitative characteristics, independent samples T-test was used, while Mann-Whitney and Z-tests were used to compare the qualitative characteristics.

Findings: There was no significant difference between the control group (9.8 ± 37 years) and the group with gluten-free diet (0.2 ± 37 years) in terms of mean age. The effect of gluten-free diet on intestinal gas, fecal consistency, urgent need for expulsion, and insufficient defecation were higher than in control group. Although abdominal pain and reduced frequency of bowel movements were higher in the control group than gluten-free diet group (P < 0.05). The positive response to general improvement in the gluten-free group and in the control group was 67% and 52%, respectively.

Conclusion: According to present results, providing gluten-free diet could be improved patient treatment's symptoms. Also, it seemed that the duration of treatment can lead to better therapeutic outcomes.

Keywords: Gastrointestinal disorders; gluten; irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Diagram 1
Diagram 1
The mean score of symptoms after receiving diet in two groups of patients
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gaman A, Bucur MC, Kuo B. Therapeutic advances in functional gastrointestinal disease: Irritable bowel syndrome. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2009;2:169–81. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Everhart JE, Renault PF. Irritable bowel syndrome in office-based practice in the United States. Gastroenterology. 1991;100:998–1005. - PubMed
    1. Sandler RS, Everhart JE, Donowitz M, Adams E, Cronin K, Goodman C, et al. The burden of selected digestive diseases in the United States. Gastroenterology. 2002;122:1500–11. - PubMed
    1. Thompson W, Irvine E, Pare P, Ferrazzi S, Rance L. Functional gastrointestinal disorders in Canada: First population-based survey using Rome II criteria with suggestions for improving the questionnaire. Dig Dis Sci. 2002;47:225–35. - PubMed
    1. Hoseini-Asl M, Amra B. Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in Shahrekord, Iran. Indian J Gastroenterol. 2003;22:215–6. - PubMed