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. 2012 Jun 7;12:61. doi: 10.1186/1471-230X-12-61

Table 2.

Subject characteristics and dietary intake: comparison between subgroups of IBS

Subject characteristics and food groups C-IBS n =103 A-IBS n =174 D-IBS n =111 p
Age, years
48.3 (14.2)
46.0 (13.2)
47.0 (12.7)
0.51
Female, n, %
86 (83%)
123 (71%)
53 (48%)
<0.001A
Severity of symptoms (1-12)
2.7 (2.3)
3.0 (2.3)
3.8 (2.5)
<0.001B
Fruits and berries, 100 g/day
1.0 (0.7)
0.8 (0.7)
0.8 (0.8)
0.068
Vegetables, 100 g/day
1.7 (2.2)
1.5 (1.1)
1.4 (1.2)
0.10
Potatoes, 100 g/day
0.4 (0.9)
1.2 (0.8)
1.2 (0.8)
0.13
Dairy products, portions1/day
2.2 (1.5)
2.2 (1.6)
2.0 (1.4)
0.71
Omega 3 fatty acids2, g/day
0.7 (0.6)
0.7 (0.7)
0.7 (0.7)
0.87
Water, 100 ml/day
3.9 (1.9)
3.9 (2.0)
3.7 (1.9)
0.65
Juice, 100 ml/day
0.9 (1.2)
0.9 (1.1)
1.0 (1.2)
0.90
Carbonated beverages, 100 ml/day
1.4 (1.6)
1.9 (2.4)
2.0 (2.1)
0.13
Tea,100 ml/day
1.7 (2.2)
1.9 (2.6)
1.4 (2.6)
0.094
Coffee,100 ml/day
4.3 (3.5)
4.0 (4.2)
4.4 (3.3)
0.39
Alcohol, units3/day 0.1 (0.2) 0.2 (0.6) 0.3 (0.6) 0.006C

1 Dairy product portions are defined as either 150 ml milk/yoghurt or 20 g (one slice) of cheese.

2 Omega 3 fatty acids are calculated from fatty fish and fish oil supplements.

3 Units of alcohol are defined as 12.8 g (15 ml) of pure alcohol.

A A-IBS vs. D-IBS: p < 0.001; C-IBS vs. D-IBS: p < 0.001; C-IBS vs. A-IBS: p = 0.020 B A-IBS vs. D-IBS: p = 0.001; C-IBS vs. D-IBS: p < 0.001.

C C-IBS vs. A-IBS: p = 0.008; C-IBS vs. D-IBS: p = 0.003.

From original data with Kruskal Wallis Test/Mann-Whitney U test for continuous and Fisher exact test for dichotomous variables. Only age, gender, severity of symptoms and food groups are shown. Values are mean (SD) unless otherwise stated.