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.

Table 2 Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios and 95%CI for irritable bowel syndrome across different categories of spicy foods consumption¹

	Consumption of spicy foods (times/wk)					Ptrend
	Never	1-3	4-6	7-9	≥10
Crude	1.00	1.34 (0.95-1.88)	1.57 (1.12-2.21)	1.75 (1.21-2.52)	2.12 (1.45-3.10)	< 0.001
Model I	1.00	1.35 (0.92-1.97)	1.48 (1.00-2.18)	1.58 (1.04-2.39)	1.99 (1.30-3.06)	< 0.001
Model II	1.00	1.28 (0.87-1.88)	1.44 (0.98-2.13)	1.45 (0.95-2.20)	1.94 (1.26- 2.98)	< 0.001
Model III	1.00	1.21 (0.81-1.80)	1.35 (0.90-2.01)	1.35 (0.87-2.07)	1.92 (1.23-3.01)	< 0.01
Model IV	1.00	1.20 (0.80-1.78)	1.33 (0.89-1.98)	1.32 (0.86-2.03)	1.85 (1.18-2.90)	< 0.01

¹Model I: Adjusted for age and gender; Model II: Adjusted for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), smoking, dietary supplements and oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use and self-reported diabetes; Model III: Adjusted for age, gender, BMI, smoking, dietary supplements and OCP use, self-reported diabetes, meal regularity, chewing quality, fluid intakes, pattern of tea consumption and dental status; Model IV: Adjusted for all variables in model III and lactose intolerance.

Table 3 Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios and 95%CI for irritable bowel syndrome across different categories of spicy foods consumption, stratified by gender

	Consumption of spicy foods (times/wk)					Ptrend
	Never	1-3	4-6	7-9	≥10
Men
Crude	1.00	1.38 (0.88-2.17)	1.48 (0.92-2.37)	1.81 (1.03-3.16)	1.62 (0.85-3.08)	0.07
Model I	1.00	1.32 (0.79-2.22)	1.34 (0.78-2.31)	1.78 (0.95-3.32)	1.78 (0.87-3.60)	0.10
Model II	1.00	1.27 (0.75-2.14)	1.35 (0.78-2.33)	1.69 (0.89-3.19)	1.8 (0.88-3.67)	0.17
Model III	1.00	1.16 (0.67-2.01)	1.26 (0.71-2.24)	1.55 (0.79-3.04)	1.65 (0.78-3.48)	0.22
Model IV	1.00	1.18 (0.68-2.05)	1.27 (0.71-2.27)	1.55 (0.79-3.04)	1.64 (0.78-3.48)	0.29
Women
Crude	1.00	1.26 (0.75-2.12)	1.44 (0.87-2.40)	1.5 (0.89-2.55)	1.96 (1.14-3.37)	< 0.01
Model I	1.00	1.38 (0.78-2.43)	1.58 (0.90-2.78)	1.57 (0.87-2.81)	2.14 (1.18-3.88)	< 0.01
Model II	1.00	1.32 (0.75-2.35)	1.53 (0.87-2.68)	1.43 (0.79-2.52)	2.05 (1.12-3.73)	< 0.01
Model III	1.00	1.3 (0.72-2.33)	1.45 (0.81-2.59)	1.38 (0.75-2.52)	2.13 (1.15-3.95)	0.01
Model IV	1.00	1.26 (0.70-2.27)	1.41 (0.79-2.52)	1.34 (0.73-2.44)	2.03 (1.09-3.77)	0.02

Model I: Adjusted for age and gender; Model II: Adjusted for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), smoking, dietary supplements and oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use and self-reported diabetes; Model III: Adjusted for age, gender, BMI, smoking, dietary supplements and OCP use, self-reported diabetes, meal regularity, chewing quality, fluid intakes, pattern of tea consumption and dental status; Model IV: Adjusted for all variables in model III and lactose intolerance.