Table 3.

Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio in clinical subgroups (abundance of Firmicutes/abundance of Bacteroidetes)

	Total IBS	IBS-P	IBS-N	Total HC	HC-P	HC-N
Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio (mean ± standard deviation)	7.13 ± 13.40a	6.19 ± 14.85	9.00 ± 10.16	2.28 ± 7.19	1.42 ± 1.179	5.08 ± 14.51

^aSignificant difference in total IBS cf total HC using Mann-Whitney test

IBS-P patients with irritable bowel syndrome positive for Blastocystis, IBS-N patients with irritable bowel syndrome negative for Blastocystis, HC-P healthy controls positive for Blastocystis, HC-N healthy controls negative for Blastocystis, cf compare