S0489 Correlation Between Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Consumption of High-Fructose Corn Syrup in a Low-Income Community

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic and debilitating disease. It is predominant in female patients. Due to its complicated treatment, clinical research is focused to improve symptomatology through dietary modifications. Hypersensitivity to certain fructose-containing foods plays a role in the development of IBS. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a widely used, cost-effective sweetener. Our hospital system is committed to service to medically underserved, low-income, and minority populations. More than 37% of our city population lives in poverty. Our city is considered a ‘food desert’ with limited dietary choices due to the lack of access to healthy foods. This may increase consumption of readily available, cheaper, processed HFCS-rich foods. We investigated if HFCS consumption is higher in our IBS patients. Identifying and eliminating these food triggers will aid in the management of this disease. METHODS: We completed a retrospective chart review of 969 IBS patients for demographics, social history and psychiatric comorbidities. We also obtained 122 patient and 50 control surveys with additional information on HFCS consumption. USDA database was used to identify foods particularly high in HFCS. HFCS was quantified by Glinsmann's coefficient. Student's t-tests were used to compare means of quantitative data. Chi-square was used for categorical proportions. Spearman's rank-order correlation was used to assess strength of correlation between IBS and psychiatric comorbidities. RESULTS: 83% and 78% IBS patients were female and Caucasian, respectively; 39% were obese. Significant number of IBS patients showed one or more psychiatric comorbidities, such as depression (567), anxiety (325), bipolar (93), PTSD (87), and psychosis (21). Notably, IBS patients had significantly higher consumption of HFCS per capita as compared to the control group (P > 0.0001) (Table 1 and Figure 1). Specific foods contributing to HFCS consumption are also schematically presented in Figure 2. This will be useful to design a personalized dietary plan to reduce HFCS intake, e.g. HFCS consumption is highest in the IBS-diarrhea patients and majority of that is contributed by beverages. CONCLUSION: Our data shows a strong correlation between IBS and certain psychiatric comorbidities as well as IBS and HFCS consumption. Our data will help to create a personalized management plan for IBS patients in areas where access to healthy food options is difficult.Table 1Figure 1Figure 2