Khayyatzadeh SS, et al. – In this study, the physicians sought to examine the association between diet–related practices and prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Factors associated with increased risk of IBS were intra–meal fluid intake, chewing insufficiency, higher tooth loss and the consumption of spicy and fried food. To confirm these findings, prospective studies were needed.

Methods

• The physicians conducted this study among 988 adolescent girls living in Iran.
• They pre-defined dietary behaviors and assessed in 9 domains using a pre-tested questionnaire.
• They used logistic regression analysis in crude and adjusted models to investigate the association between diet-related practices and the presence of IBS.

Results

• In this population, the prevalence of IBS was 16.9%.
• Those who always consumed fluid with meals had a greater chance of IBS compared with individuals who did not consume fluid with their meal (OR: 2.91; P: 0.01).
• A direct relationship was found between a greater intake of spicy food and IBS prevalence (OR: 5.28; P: 0.02).
• Compared with those who did not consume fried foods, the individuals who ate fried foods every day also had a greater risk of IBS (OR: 1.65; P: 0.01).
• Between the chewing sufficiency and the risk of IBS (OR: 4.04; P: 0.02), the subjects who had lost ≥ 5 teeth had 2.23 times greater odds for IBS than the individual who had lost ≤1 tooth (OR: 2.23; P: 0.01) was a significant inverse relationship.
• After controlling for potential confounder, these associations remained significant.