Food intolerance and skin prick test in treated and untreated irritable bowel syndrome

Table 1 Characteristics of studied subjects, n (%)

	Treated	Untreated	Control
	(n = 44)	(n = 31)	(n = 30)
Age (years)	37.9+13.2	27.2+1.9	25.8+1.7
Gender
Male	19 (43.2)	16 (51.6)	22 (73.3)
Female	25 (56.8)	15 (48.4)	8 (26.7)
IBS subgroups
C-IBS	10 (22.7)	12 (38.7)	-
D-IBS	15 (34.1)	9 (29.0)	-
A-IBS	19 (43.2)	10 (32.3)	-
Type of initial health care system		-	-
Tertiary center	13 (29.5)	-	-
Primary care	25 (56.8)	-	-
OB/Gyn 3	1 (2.3)	-	-
Oriental-medicine	5 (11.4)	-	-
Reason for seeking for health care
Abdominal pain	17 (38.7)	-	-
Discomfort, bloating	14 (31.8)	-	-
Altered stool pattern	13 (29.5)	-	-

Table 2 Symptoms, duration of symptoms, and onset of IBS, n (%)

	Treated	Untreated	P
	(n =44)	(n =31)
Duration of symptom			0.035
Less than 1 h	5 (11.4)	7 (22.6)
1-24 h	13 (29.5)	15 (48.4)
More than 1 day	26 (59.1)	9 (29.0)
Severity of subjective symptoms			0.001
Extremely severe	6 (13.6)	-
Very	22 (50.0)	5 (15.6)
Somewhat	14 (31.8)	19 (62.5)
Not very	1 (2.3)	6 (18.8)
Not at all severe	1 (2.3)	1 (3.1)
Onset of IBS symptoms			0.065
Recent 6 mo	3 (6.8)	2 (6.3)
1 year ago	8 (18.2)	1 (3.1)
1-2 years ago	6 (13.6)	4 (12.5)
2-5 years ago	13 (29.5)	12 (40.6)
5-10 years ago	7 (15.9)	11 (34.4)
10-20 years ago	5 (11.4)	1 (3.1)
More than 20 years ago	2 (4.5)	-

Table 3 Score of quality of life (mean ± SD)

Domain	Treated	Untreated	Control	Pvaluea	P valuec
	(n =44)	(n =31)	(n = 30)
Physical health	52.47±15.06	59.09±13.17	75.74±16.25	0.001	0.001
Psychological health	52.98±17.00	56.06±13.71	68.75±13.79	0.001	0.014
Social relationships	53.77±13.92	59.47±11.59	61.81±16.47	0.067	0.005
Environmental health	48.44±15.19	54.69±11.19	63.15±12.70	0.001	0.005
Overall QOL	5.79± 1.09	6.36± 1.33	8.21± 0.93	0.001	0.002

QOL: quality of life. ^aP < 0.05 by χ²-test; ^cP < 0.05 by χ²-test between IBS patients and control.

Table 4 History of allergies and food intolerance, n (%)

	Treated	Untreated	Control	P	P	P
	(n =44)	(n =31)	(n =30)	value a	value c	value e
History of allergies	25 (56.8)	21 (67.7)	9 (30.0)	0.017	NS	0.008
Atrophy	5 (11.4)	5 (16.1)	2 (22.2)
Asthma	3 (6.8)	2 (6.5)	-
Rhinitis	10 (22.7)	7 (22.6)	5 (55.6)
Eczema	4 (9.1)	5 (16.1)	3 (33.3)
Hives	4 (9.1)	7 (22.6)	-
Reported food intolerance	36 (81.8)	27 (87.1)	23 (76.7)	NS	NS	NS
Dairy products	24 (54.5)	17 (54.8)	11 (36.7)
Coffee	13 (29.5)	7 (22.6)	6 (20.0)
Alcohol	16 (36.4)	15 (48.4)	15 (50.0)
Cold, raw foods	15 (34.1)	10 (32.3)	8 (26.7)
Spicy foods	17 (38.6)	6 (19.4)	8 (26.7)
Others	10 (22.7)	3 (9.7)	1 (3.3)

^aP < 0.05 by χ²-test; ^cP < 0.05 by χ²-test between treated and untreated patients; ^eP < 0.05 by χ²-test between IBS patients and controls.

Table 5 Skin prick test results using food allergens and inhalant allergens, n (%)

	Treated	Untreated	Control	P	P	P
	(n =44)	(n =31)	(n = 30)	value a	value c	value e
Positive food SPT	17/44(38.6)	5/31 (16.1)	1/30 (3.3)	<0.001	0.03	<0.001
Saury	13 (76.5)	2 (40.0)	1 (100.0)
Mackerel	3 (17.6)	-	-
Beef	1 (5.9)	2 (40.0)	-
Pork	2 (11.8)	1 (20.0)	-
Buckwheat	3 (17.6)	-	-
Rice	4 (23.5)	1 (20.0)	-
Arrowroot	3 (17.6)	-	-
Sweet potatoes	3 (17.6)	-	-
Beans	2 (11.8)	1 (20.0)	-
Cabbages	3 (17.6)	-	-
Celery	3 (17.6)	-	-
Onions	3 (17.6)	-	-
Peach	1 (5.9)	1 (20.0)	-
Tomato	1 (5.9)	-	-
Melon	2 (11.8)	-	-
Squid	1 (5.9)	1 (20.0)	-
Trumpet shell	3 (17.6)	-	-
Curry	2 (11.8)	-	-
Positive inhalant SPT	11 (25.0)	11 (35.5)	13.3 (4)	NS	NS	NS
D-farinae	7 (63.6)	7 (63.6)	50.0 (2)
D-pteronyssinus	5 (45.5)	8 (72.7)	50.0 (2)
Alternaria alternate	2 (18.2)	-	25.0 (1)
Grass pollen	27.3 (3)	1 (9.1)	-
Tree pollen	36.4 (4)	1 (9.1)	1 (25.0)
Mugwort pollen	-	2 (18.2)	-
Willow pollen	9.1 (1)	-	-
Ragweed	36.4 (4)	3 (27.3)	-
Dog hair	45.5 (5)	1 (9.1)	1 (25.0)
Cat fur	18.2 (2)	-	-
Cockroach mix	9.1 (1)	-	-

^aP < 0.05 by χ²-test; ^cP < 0.05 by χ²-test between treated and untreated patients; ^eP <0.05 by χ²-test between IBS patients and controls.

Table 6 IgE and total eosinophil count (mean ± SD)

	Treated	Untreated	Control	P value
	(n =44)	(n =31)	(n = 30)
IgE (IU/mL)	252.36 ± 558.94	402.34 ± 765.00	320.53 ± 659.07	NS
Eosinophil (/μL)	153.74 ± 149.68	181.72 ± 126.04	166.42 ± 139.10	NS

Table 7 Characteristics of treated and untreated patients with IBS, n (%)

Characteristics	Positive food SPT	Negative food SPT	P value
	(n =22)	(n =53)
Gender			NS
Male	7 (31.8)	28 (52.8)
Female	15 (68.2)	25 (47.2)
Subtypes			NS
A-IBS	8 (36.4)	21 (39.6)
C-IBS	9 (40.9)	13 (24.5)
D-IBS	5 (22.7)	19 (35.8)
Current history of allergies	13 (59.1)	33 (62.3)	NS
Reported food intolerance	9 (40.9)	7 (13.2)	0.013
Inhalant positive SPT	11 (50.0)	11 (20.8)	0.006
Positive RAST	3 (13.6)	-