Consumption of spicy foods and the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome

Table 1 General characteristics of study participants across different categories of spicy foods consumption

	Consumption of spicy foods (times/wk)
	Never	1-3	4-6	7-9	≥10	1P value
Age (yr)	38.0 ± 8.3	37.4 ± 8.4	36.5 ± 7.8	35.1 ± 7.3	33.9 ± 7.6	< 0.001
Weight (kg)	70.3 ± 15.2	70.7 ± 13.4	68.2 ± 12	66.9 ± 14.0	65.4 ± 11.7	< 0.001
BMI (kg/m2)	25.1 ± 5.3	25.2 ± 5.0	24.9 ± 4.0	25.0 ± 5.0	24.5 ± 3.8	0.16
Female	38.10%	41.30%	63.50%	73.50%	76.50%	< 0.001
Marriage	78.70%	81.10%	82.70%	79.00%	81.60%	0.03
University degree	44.90%	50.50%	62.00%	65.50%	65.20%	< 0.001
Current smokers	6.30%	4.20%	4.00%	1.40%	1.60%	0.01
Supplement use	4.10%	6.10%	8.30%	9.10%	9.80%	< 0.001
OCP use	1.00%	1.60%	3.00%	4.70%	4.40%	< 0.001
Self-reported diabetes	1.70%	1.80%	1.90%	1.70%	1.40%	0.72

All values are mean ± SD; ¹Obtained from ANOVA or χ² test, as appropriate. BMI: Body mass index; OCP: Oral contraceptive pill.