TOPLINE:

Among young adults with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), 29.1% also reported having nonceliac gluten sensitivity. Those with both conditions more often had symptoms beyond the gut and were more likely to follow and report benefits from a gluten-free diet than those with IBS alone.

METHODOLOGY:

• IBS and nonceliac gluten sensitivity share overlapping symptoms, and some patients with IBS report improvement on a gluten-free diet despite lacking a clear diagnosis of gluten sensitivity.
• Researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey to estimate the proportion of people reporting nonceliac gluten sensitivity among those meeting Rome IV criteria for IBS and to explore related symptoms and dietary behaviors.
• The survey included participants aged 18-35 years from the general population, recruited outside shopping centers in 13 Italian cities between January and March 2022.
• Participants completed a questionnaire covering multiple aspects, including demographics, medical history, IBS symptoms (Rome IV), gluten-related symptoms, comorbidities, and gluten-free diet use.

TAKEAWAY:

• The final analysis included 5108 respondents (mean age, 23.5 years; 66.2% female). Overall, 16% of participants met Rome IV criteria for IBS, 29.1% of whom also met the criteria for nonceliac gluten sensitivity.
• Nonceliac gluten sensitivity was more common in participants with IBS than in those without IBS (29.1% vs 8.6%; P < .0001).The proportion of women was higher among those with both conditions than among those without either condition (P < .0001).
• Participants with both IBS and nonceliac gluten sensitivity reported extraintestinal symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, and poor well-being more often (P < .02) and had higher rates of anxiety and depression (P < .05) than those with IBS alone.
• The proportion of participants who adhered to a gluten-free diet was higher among those with both IBS and nonceliac gluten sensitivity than among those with IBS alone (60.9% vs 40.5%; P < .0001). Among those who adopted a gluten-free diet, a higher proportion of those with both conditions vs IBS alone reported symptom improvement.

IN PRACTICE:

“Taken together, these findings suggest that, in a subset of IBS patients, exposure to specific wheat components may induce or exacerbate gastrointestinal and systemic symptoms via immune-mediated mechanisms and highlight the need for further studies to elucidate the impact of wheat ingestion, immune activation, and mucosal responses in the context of IBS,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Viviana Fara Brindicci, MD, and Fernanda Cristofori, MD, University of Bari “Aldo Moro,” Children’s Hospital “Giovanni XXIII,” Bari, Italy. It was published online in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology.

LIMITATIONS:

The study relied on self-reported data, which may have led to inaccurate diagnoses and diet reporting. Researchers could not determine the true prevalence of IBS and nonceliac gluten sensitivity overlap. Not all contacted participants responded, raising the possibility of nonresponse bias.

DISCLOSURES:

No specific funding source was mentioned for the study. The authors declared having no disclosures.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.