Correlation between the neuroendocrine axis, microbial species, inflammatory response, and gastrointestinal symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome

Table 2 Comparison of neuroendocrine axis indicators between different phenotypes of irritable bowel syndrome

	IBS-D	IBS-C	IBS-M	IBS-U	F value	P value
Number of cases	36	24	15	5	-	-
ACTH (ng/mL)	16.45 ± 2.41	16.33 ± 2.39	17.48 ± 2.37	16.78 ± 2.54	1.315	0.274
COR (pg/mL)	191.37 ± 20.11	189.81 ± 20.45	190.23 ± 20.47	189.46 ± 20.73	3.552	0.338
5-HT (ng/mL/mg)	0.52 ± 0.24	0.58 ± 0.34	0.54 ± 0.21	0.57 ± 0.246	0.452	0.638

IBS-D: Diarrhea predominant IBS; IBS-C: Constipation predominant IBS; IBS-M: Mixed-type IBS; IBS-U: Unspecified-type IBS; ACTH: Adrenocorticotropic hormone; COR: Cortisol; 5-HT: 5-hydroxytryptamine.