The Association Between Usual Diet and Bowel Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction: Analyses From the Rome Foundation Global Epidemiology Study

Background/Aims: Food is thought to play a central role in the pathophysiology of disorders of gut–brain interaction (DGBI). Data on these associations come largely from Western countries. We evaluated associations between diet and common bowel DGBI using the database of the Rome Foundation Global Epidemiology Study (RFGES). Methods: The RFGES database contains data collected via the Internet, personal interviews, or both from 33 countries, providing prevalence rates for common DGBI. Logistic regressions were used to analyze associations between DGBI and vegan, vegetarian, lactose-free and bread-, pasta-, and rice-predominant diets. Results: 54 127 internet and 20 973 household survey subjects were included. Rates of adherence to a vegan or vegetarian diet were low in both surveys (0.4% to 9.8%) and differences in dietary preference were also noted between surveys with lactose-free and rice-predominant diets being more common among household survey respondents. While discrepancies between results from the 2 surveys limited the interpretation of the data, some trends were evident with a lactose-free diet linked to an increased prevalence and bread- and rice-predominant diets to lower prevalence rates of several bowel DGBI. Conclusions: Though complicated by variations in results between the 2 survey populations, this global survey has revealed dietary factors that may impact, in the general population, on reported prevalence rates for DGBI.