Clinical and demographic characteristics of participants
| IBS-D (n=43) | HC (n=26) | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 35 (20–60) | 32 (23–58) | 0.38 |
| Gender, M:F | 17:26 | 12:14 | 0.77 |
| Body mass index | 23.3±3.6 | 23.0±3.1 | 0.74 |
| Functional dyspepsia | 23/43 | 0/26 | – |
| Severity of the disease, Francis score | 252.9±88.2 | – | – |
| Abdominal pain intensity, score | 41.7±23.6 | – | – |
| Abdominal pain frequency, number of days | 6 (2–10) | – | – |
| Bowel movements, number/day | 3.4±1.4 | 1.5±0.6 | <0.0001*** |
| Stool form, Bristol score | 6 (2–7) | 3.5 (3–5) | <0.0001*** |
| Holmes-Rahe scale | 138 (25–349) | 101 (25–399) | 0.28 |
| Cohen scale | 23.7±7.0 | 17.1±7.3 | 0.0003** |
| Beck’s index | 8 (0–32) | 0 (0–10) | <0.0001*** |
Values represent median (range) or mean±SD.
p Values considered significant are shown in bold: **<0.001; ***<0.0001.
F, female; M, male; HC, healthy controls; IBS-D, diarrhoea-predominant IBS.