Dietary patterns linked to symptoms in patients with a disorder of gut-brain interaction

Even though irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has been known for over

150 years, it still remains one of the research challenges of the 21st

century. According to the current diagnostic Rome IV criteria, IBS is

characterized by abdominal pain that is associated with defecation

and/or a change in bowel habit, in the absence of detectable organic

causes. Symptoms interfere with the daily life of patients, reduce

health-related quality of life and lower the work productivity. Despite

the high prevalence of 15%, its pathophysiology is only partly

understood and seems multifactorial. However, many patients report

symptoms to be meal-related and it is thought that ingested foods

may alter brain signaling and the gastrointestinal response. Patients

tend to avoid and even exclude certain food products to relieve their

symptoms, which could affect nutritional quality. With this project we

want to enhance our understanding of the role of nutrients as trigger

for symptom generation in IBS, to unravel the underlying mechanism

and to develop an individualized dietary therapeutic approach. This

will be done by evaluating individual dietary triggers with food diaries,

a food frequency questionnaire and symptom questionnaires.

Thereafter, these individual food triggers will be confirmed with a

mobile application and a double-blinded crossover meal provocative

study. Additionally, we will analyze the meal-related factor in the

current diagnostic criteria for IBS with factor-analysis.