Psychological and Gastrointestinal Symptoms of Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome Undergoing a Low-FODMAP Diet: The Role of the Intestinal Barrier

Abstract

A diet low in fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (LFD) improves both gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and the psychological profile of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D). The effects of 12 weeks of LFD on GI symptom and psychological profiles in relation to inflammation and the involvement of the intestinal barrier were studied in twenty IBS-D patients. The IBS Severity Scoring System, the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, the Italian version of the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, the IBS-Quality of Life (QoL) questionnaire, and the Psychophysiological questionnaire were administered. The GI barrier function was assessed by sugar absorption test, the serum and fecal zonulin levels, and the serum levels of intestinal fatty-acid binding protein and diamine oxidase. Interleukins (ILs) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) serum levels were evaluated along with dysbiosis. At the end of LFD, GI symptoms, psychological state (mainly anxiety, somatization, psychoticism, and interpersonal sensitivity), and QoL significantly improved in these patients. Simultaneously, an improvement in small intestinal permeability and intestinal mucosal integrity occurred, while IL-6, Il-10, LPS, and fermentative dysbiosis significantly decreased. The LFD can modify the immune-inflammatory features and enhance intestinal permeability and mucosal integrity, thus determining a concurrent improvement in the clinical and psychological conditions.