RecruitingACTRN12624000340538

Dietary treatment for irritable bowel syndrome: a pathway to disordered eating? A pilot study

Dietary treatment for irritable bowel syndrome in adults: a pathway to disordered eating? A pilot study

Sponsor

Swinburne University of Technology

Enrollment

27 participants

Start Date

May 28, 2024

Study Type

Interventional

Conditions

Disordered eating

Summary

Dietary therapies are at the forefront of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) management, but their restrictive nature has led to concern they may cause disordered eating. This study seeks to understand if dietary treatment influences disordered eating in IBS, and to clarify the validity of screening tools in this population. We will recruit 27 patients with IBS from the community. Participants will be provided with the first-line dietary treatment for IBS, the low FODMAP (fermentable carbohydrate) diet by a specialist dietitian. Participants will meet with the dietitian twice (Week 0 and Week 6) for 1 hour each, and have additional support via the Monash University Low FODMAP App. At weeks 0 and 6, participants will complete questionnaires (assessing symptoms, dietary intake, and disordered eating screen) and meet with a provisional psychologist to assess for disordered eating. The primary aim is to assess the number of participants classified as meeting disordered eating criteria based on a psychologist’s clinical assessment following the intervention. Secondary aim is to compare the reliability of a screening questionnaire compared to the psychologist’s clinical assessment.

Eligibility

Sex: Both males and femalesMin Age: 18 Yearss

Plain Language Summary

Simplified for easier understanding

The low FODMAP diet is a leading dietary treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) — a condition affecting millions of people that causes bloating, pain, and unpredictable bowel habits. The diet involves temporarily restricting certain types of carbohydrates that ferment in the gut. While it works well for many people, its restrictive nature has raised questions about whether it could inadvertently trigger or worsen disordered eating in some individuals. This pilot study from Swinburne University will assess whether the low FODMAP diet influences disordered eating patterns in people with IBS. Participants will work with a specialist dietitian over 6 weeks, and will be assessed by a provisional psychologist for disordered eating before and after the diet. The study will also evaluate how useful screening questionnaires are for detecting disordered eating in this population. You may be eligible if you are 18 or older, meet the criteria for IBS, have not previously done dietary interventions for IBS, and do not currently show signs of disordered eating. People with very mild IBS, a known history of eating disorders, or those taking psychotropic medications are not eligible. This important safety research could help dietitians better screen patients before recommending the low FODMAP diet.

This summary was AI-generated to explain the trial in plain language. It is not medical advice. Always discuss eligibility with your doctor before enrolling in a clinical trial.

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Interventions

Dietary intervention: The dietary intervention is designed to mimic exactly what is used in clinical practice when instituting the low FODMAP (fermentable oligo- di- mono-saccharides and polyols) diet. Participants will have 2 visits (6 weeks apart) with the dietitian, each up to 1 hour in length either face-to-face or via videoconference. As such at Week-0, participants will be instructed by an experienced dietitian to follow a low FODMAP diet for 6-weeks. The low FODMAP diet involves reducing intake of specific foods high in FODMAPs such as wheat, rye, onion, garlic, honey, apples and pears. In replacement of these foods, low FODMAP options will be encouraged such as gluten free bread, rice, carrots, zucchini, maple syrup, oranges and kiwifruit. At Week-6, participants will be instructed to reintroduce FODMAPs to determine their level of tolerance. Using strategic re-challenges, participants will re-introduce 1 food at a time to monitor their symptom response, if symptoms do not occur, it is assumed they can tolerate that FODMAP and re-introduce it back into the diet. Once the participant has completed the re-challenges (usually ~6 weeks later), they will be asked to return (via email) their re-challenge record to the researchers. Should they have any questions the participants can contact the study dietitian via email. To assist with compliance and be consistent with clinical practice, Dr Caroline Tuck’s email address will be provided to participants should they have any specific questions regarding the dietary modifications between visits. Participants will complete a 3-day food diary at week 0 and week 6 to monitor adherence to the diet. Each visit will be 60 minutes, and standardized language and written information will be provided. Additionally, to enhance clinical outcomes participants will be provided with the Monash University Low FODMAP diet Smartphone App. A code will be generated for participants to access and download the app on their phone for free. Participants can use the app at their own discretion. The app provides details on the FODMAP rating (i.e. low, moderate or high in FODMAPs) of a large range of foods and also provides recipes. No monitoring of app usage will occur in the study, it will be provided as a supportive/educational tool.

Locations(1)

ACT,NSW,NT,QLD,SA,TAS,WA,VIC, Australia

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