Chan MMH, Zarate-Lopez N, , et al. - For irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), an effective dietitian-led treatment is the low fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAP) diet. Given the common occurrence of psychological co-morbidities in IBS, researchers sought to evaluate symptom related outcomes of the diet following group education and assess its effect on psychological profiles.

• A total of 55 IBS patients, who attended FODMAP Restriction and FODMAP Reintroduction group sessions, were studied in this observational, prospective study.

• The low FODMAP diet is identified as efficacious in IBS patients who attended dietitian-led group education settings.

• Gastrointestinal symptoms improved significantly, however, there appeared no effect on clinical levels of anxiety, depression or the risk of an eating disorder.