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

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.