Impact of gluten on irritable bowel syndrome

Objective: To assess the impact of a gluten-free diet on the quality of life of patients managed for irritable bowel syndrome at a tertiary care hospital Study Design: Prospective comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Medicine/Gastroenterology, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan from Jul 2020 to May 2021. Methodology: Two hundred patients with irritable bowel syndrome and diagnosed on the basis of Rome-IV criteria were included in this study. They were divided into two groups via a lottery method. Group-1 received treatment as usual, depending upon the type of irritable bowel syndrome. Group-2 received treatment as usual and a gluten-free diet. Quality of life was assessed after one month using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief scale. Results: Out of 200 patients with irritable bowel syndrome included in the study, 93(46.5%) were male, while 107(53.5%) were female. 125(62.5%) had good quality of life after one month of treatment, while 75(37.5%) had lesser quality of life. Statistical analysis revealed that irritable use of a gluten-free diet had a statistically significant relationship (p-value<0.001) with good quality of life after one month of treatment in study participants. Conclusion: After one month of treatment, good quality of life was found in many patients with irritable bowel syndrome. The use of a gluten-free diet in addition to treatment, as usual, was associated with good quality of life than routine treatment in these patients. (author)