Table 4.
Difference in gastrointestinal symptoms and laboratory analyses in regard to regular and irregular dietary habits during run-in.
| Parameters | Regular Habits N = 50 |
Irregular Habits N = 52 |
p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| IBS-SSS total score | 296 (236–350) | 329 (260–387) | 0.051 (0.029) * |
| Abdominal pain | 49 (36–62) | 56 (37–76) | 0.081 |
| Diarrhea | 56 (10–75) | 54 (10–72) | 0.924 |
| Constipation | 40 (1–68) | 64 (1–76) | 0.118 |
| Bloating and flatulence | 74 (52–82) | 84 (68–92) | 0.006 |
| Vomiting and nausea | 7 (1–31) | 24 (7–52) | 0.041 |
| Psychological well-being |
46 (24–61) | 54 (31–71) | 0.194 |
| Intestinal symptoms’ influence on daily life | 70 (47–81) | 70 (60–87) | 0.052 (0.018) * |
| CRP (mg/L) | 0.600 (0.6–1.495) | 0.92 (0.60–2.64) | 0.109 |
| Iron (µmol/L) | 16.40 (12.54–21.12) | 16.36 (10.35–18.94) | 0.244 |
| TIBC (µmol/L) | 61.43 (56.54–67.06) | 65.30 (58.46–72.48) | 0.116 |
| Ferritin (µg/L) | 88.11 (50.34–140.20) | 60.84 (30.83–133.45) | 0.044 (0.249) ** |
| Folic acid (nmol/L) | 14.40 (11.26–21.72) | 13.68 (9.70–20.84) | 0.239 |
| Cobalamin (nmol/L) | 368.70 (279.50–433.33) |
339.05 (251.92–417.98) |
0.408 |
| 25-OH Vitamin D (nmol/L) | 61.33 (52.32–70.50) | 59.30 (50.00–80.12) | 0.627 |
CRP = C-reactive protein; IBS-SSS = irritable bowel syndrome-symptom severity scale; TIBC = Total iron binding capacity. Regular habits were defined as 3–6 meals/day, ingested at regular time points. Individual gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms were measured in mm on visual analog scale for irritable bowel syndrome (VAS-IBS). Blood samples were analyzed in plasma, except 25-hydroxy (OH) vitamin D which was analyzed in serum. Values are presented as median and interquartile ranges (IQR). Comparisons between groups were performed by Mann–Whitney U test. Calculations supplemented with: * = Student’s t-test. ** = linear regression, adjusted for age. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.