Nutritional Status, Quality of Life and Life Habits of Women With Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional and chronic gastrointestinal disorder that may cause abdominal pain and altered bowel habits, affecting the nutritional status and quality of life of its carriers. Its prevalence is high, affecting about 10% to 15% of the general population in developed countries, being more prevalent in women than in men in the proportion 2:1. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to compare the profile of body adiposity, life habits, and the quality of life of women with irritable bowel syndrome with a healthy control group. METHODS: Case-control study on 70 women, 34 with irritable bowel syndrome and 36 healthy. We applied the “Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life Questionnaire”to assess quality of life. Body adiposity was assessed from body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio. We investigated the self-reporting of gastrointestinal symptoms with food deemed as problematic for carriers of irritable bowel syndrome and the presence of typical comorbidities. Assessment of life habits included: practice of physical activities, alcoholism, smoking, daytime sleepiness, and exclusion of foods from the feeding routine. For statistical analysis we used the IBM SPSS program, with a significance level at 5%. RESULTS: There was higher volume of central and general adiposity in the case group compared with the control group (P<0.05). Cases presented a higher chance of developing IBS-related comorbidities (P<0.05). About of 80% of patients with irritable bowel syndrome have excluded some food from the diet (P<0.01) and the total amount of troublesome foods varied from 7 to 21 (P<0.01). The case group featured worse quality of life compared with the control (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Compared to the control group, women with irritable bowel syndrome showed greater body adiposity, higher frequency of comorbidities, greater restriction on the consumption of problematic foods and worse quality of life.

Impactos da Síndrome do Intestino Irritável associada à ansiedade e depressão na qualidade de vida da população

“…O diagnóstico ainda é baseado apenas na apresentação clínica por ser uma fisiopatologia incompletamente compreendida, no entanto, critérios foram propostos para auxiliar os profissionais da saúde na investigação e são chamados de "critérios de Roma". Nesse método, foram definidos subtipos de constipação: tipo predominante de diarreia, tipo misto e subtipado, ou seja, os hábitos intestinais são avaliados em dois níveis, tendo em consideração a frequência e o aspecto das fezes para que assim um diagnóstico preciso seja feito (Mohammad, B & Al-dohouky, L & Mohammed, A, 2019) (Mendonça et al, 2020) O tratamento da Síndrome do intestino irritável não possui um padrão, pois envolve tanto a abordagem terapêutica, quanto a farmacológica além da mudança de estilo de vida que é imprescindível. Dessa maneira, vale ressaltar que por ser uma doença que possui somatização de várias é de difícil diagnóstico.…”

High-Fat Foods and FODMAPs Containing Gluten Foods Primarily Contribute to Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Korean Adults

“…They were mostly categorized as high FODMAPs with high fat contents. In a previous study, including 70 Brazilian female adults, the food items that caused gastrointestinal aggravations in IBS patients were fried food and food made from flour/wheat [ 43 ]. These results were partially similar to those reported in this study.…”