Table 1.
Characteristics of the included randomised control trial (RCT) studies in the meta-analysis.
| Patient Population | Year (Mean ± SD or Median) | % Female | Symptoms and Stool Characteristics | |||||||||||||
| Study, Year, Country | Duration of Follow-up |
Assessed
for Eligibility |
Randomised | Intervention/Control | Drop Outs | Low- FODMAP group |
Traditional IBS group |
p | Low- FODMAP group |
Traditional IBS group |
p | Abdom Pain * | Bloating | Stool Consistency | Stool Frequency | |
| Study group | Control group | |||||||||||||||
| RCT Low-FODMAP vs. Traditional IBS Diets | ||||||||||||||||
| Eswaran, 2016, USA [30] | 4 weeks | 171 | 92 | 50/42 | Study group n = 5 | Control group n = 3 | 41.6 ± 41.7 Low- FODMAP group |
43.8 ± 15.2 Traditional IBS group |
(p = 0.49) | 66.0 Low- FODMAP group |
76.2 Traditional IBS group |
(p = 0.35) | X | X | X | X |
| Böhn, 2015, Sweden [29] | 4 weeks | 84 | 75 | 38/37 | Study group n = 5 | Control group n = 3 | 44.0 Low- FODMAP group |
41.0 Traditional IBS group |
(p = 0.35) | 79.0 Low- FODMAP group |
84.0 Traditional IBS group |
(p = 0.59) | X | X | X | X |
| Staudacher, 2012, UK [36] | 4 weeks | 99 | 41 | 19/22 | Study group n = 3 | Control group n = 3 | 35.2 Low- FODMAP group |
35.0 Traditional IBS group |
(p = 0.94) | 63.0 Low- FODMAP group |
68.0 Traditional IBS group |
(p = 0.74) | X | X | X | X |
| RCT low-FODMAP vs. Medium/High FODMAP Diets | ||||||||||||||||
| McIntosh, 2016, Canada [53] | 3 weeks | 37 | 40 | 20/20 | Study group n = 2 |
Control group n = 1 | 50.2 Low- FODMAP group |
51.4 High- FODMAP |
(p = NS) ** | 83.3 Low- FODMAP group |
89.4 High- FODMAP |
(p = NS) * | X | X | - | - |
| Halmos, 2014, Australia [26] | 3 weeks | 45 | 30 | 15/15 | IBS group n = 7 | Healthy subject group n = 8 | 41.0 IBS group |
31.0 Healthy subject group | (p = NS) ** | 70.0 IBS group |
75.0 Healthy subject group |
(p = NS) ** | X | X | - | - |
| Ong, 2010, Australia [25] | 11 days | 15 | 15 | 15/15 | Not Reported | 50.2 Low- FODMAP group |
51.4 High- FODMAP |
(p = NS) ** | 83.3 Low- FODMAP group |
89.4 High- FODMAP |
(p = NS) ** | X | X | - | - | |
SD: Standard deviation, RTC: Randomized Controlled Trials, X = symptoms assessed; - = symptoms not assessed, FODMAP: Food with Highly Fermentable Oligo, Di- and Monosaccharides and Polyols IBS: Irritable Bowel Syndrome * Abdom. Pain = abdominal pain; ** NS = not significant (as reported in the included studies).