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CompletedNCT04072991Updated Apr 12, 2023

A Study Comparing the Effectiveness and Convenience of Dietary Therapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

An interventional study of dietary therapy in Irritable Bowel Syndrome, sponsored by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Completed at 1 site in United Kingdom. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-04-12.

Sponsored by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 4 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Apr 2019, registered Aug 2019).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
101
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional lower gastrointestinal disorder characterised by abdominal pain and altered bowel habit in the absence of organic pathology to explain the symptoms. Irritable bowel syndrome has a prevalence of approximately 10% in adults, shows a female preponderance, and is more common in younger individuals. In clinical practice, Irritable bowel syndrome accounts for almost a third of all gastroenterology cases seen in primary care, with a subsequent third of these being referred onto secondary-care for further evaluation. The economic burden of Irritable bowel syndrome, in terms of medical expense, work absenteeism and loss of productivity, is considerable.

The exact cause of irritable bowel syndrome is unknown. Accordingly there has been a huge surge in interest for dietary therapies to help manage Irritable bowel syndrome. To date, there are only a handful of small randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of dietary therapy in Irritable bowel syndrome. In light of this we plan to conduct the first randomized controlled trial directly comparing the effectiveness of the low-FODMAP diet, British Dietetic Association diet, and the gluten free diet in Irritable bowel syndrome. Moreover, such a trial allows for a direct comparison of nutritional and gut microbial changes, both of which can suffer detrimental consequences following the implementation of restrictive dietary therapies. This study is also unique in that it takes into consideration the patients' perspective with regards to the convenience and cost-effectiveness of implementing such diets into routine day-to-day life. The study will aim to recruit 100 patients from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals gastrointestinal clinics. Following recruitment patients will be seen by a hospital dietitian where they will be randomized to one of the 3 diets. Participants will complete a questionnaire portfolio weekly for one month as part of the study

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Conditions studied

  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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In context

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

1,062 studies on the registry are indexed under Irritable Bowel Syndrome; 190 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 101 is above the median of 71 across 853 interventional studies indexed under Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Browse Irritable Bowel Syndrome studies →

Lead sponsor

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the lead sponsor of 207 studies on the registry; 26 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Irritable Bowel syndrome - as defined by abdominal pain and altered bowel habit in the absence of organic pathology to explain the symptoms.This is the contemporary definition as provided by the Rome IV committee.
  2. Age 18-65 years
  3. English literate
  4. Can travel to hospital
  5. Telephone/internet access

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Inflammatory bowel disease
  2. Coeliac disease
  3. Gastrointestinal cancer
  4. Previous abdominal surgery
  5. Scleroderma
  6. Poorly controlled diabetes
  7. Severe liver disease
  8. Severe renal disease
  9. Severe respiratory disease
  10. Severe cardiac disease
  11. Severe psychiatric disease
  12. Memory disorders
  13. Pregnant
  14. Current dietary interventions
  15. Recent/current use of Probiotics
  16. Recent/current use of Antibiotics
  17. Recent/current use of Narcotics
  18. Currently titrated antidepressants (i.e. not on a stable dose)
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
101 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Low FODMAP diet

    As part of their treatment for IBS participants may be randomised to a low FODMAP diet

    Other: dietary therapy

  • Active comparator
    Gluten Free Diet

    As part of their treatment for IBS participants may be randomised to a gluten free diet

    Other: dietary therapy

  • Active comparator
    British Dietetic Association diet

    As part of their treatment for IBS participants may be randomised to the BDA diet

    Other: dietary therapy

Interventions

  • Otherdietary therapy

    participants will undertake a four week diet as part of their IBS treatment

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Percentage with at least 50-point reduction in Irritable bowel syndrome Severity Scoring System questionnaire

    A validated questionnaire to assess IBS symptoms and severity. The ranges of this questionnaire are included below: How severe was your pain? 0 (no pain) -100 (very severe) how severe is your abdominal (tummy) pain? 0 (no pain) - 100 (very severe) how severe is your abdominal distention/tightness? 0 (no pain) - 100 (very severe) How satisfied are you with your bowel habit? 0 (very happy) - 100 (very unhappy) Please indicate with a cross on the line below how much your irritable bowel syndrome is affecting or interfering with your life in general. 0 (not at all) - 100 (completely) A higher score on any scale represents a negative outcome. A ≥ 50-point reduction in IBS-SSS following intervention represents a clinically significant improvement

    Time frame: Baseline to week 4

Secondary outcomes

  1. Changes in proportion with anxiety and depression

    Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - is a psychological screening tool to which there are in total 14 items, seven each for depression and anxiety. Each item is rated from 0 (not present) to 3 (maximum), giving a cumulative score for each subscale to range from 0 to 21. A subscale score of ≥11 is used to indicate a clinically significant level of anxiety or depression.

    Time frame: Baseline to week 4

  2. Changes in somatization

    The patient health questionnaire (PHQ)-12 non-GI somatic symptoms scale- The PHQ-12 records bothersome non-GI symptoms over the past month. The twelve symptoms assessed are back pain, limb pain, headaches, chest pain, dizziness, fainting spells, palpitations, breathlessness, menstrual cramps, dyspareunia, insomnia, and lethargy. Subjects were asked to rate how much they had been troubled by these 12 symptoms over the last four weeks as 0 ("not bothered at all"), 1 ("bothered a little"), or 2 ("bothered a lot"). Responses were used to calculate the number of sites reporting somatic symptoms (ranging from 0 to 12) and the somatisation severity score (ranging from 0 to 24), which was categorised as minimal (less than or equal to 3), low (4-7), medium (8-12) and high (≥ 13).

    Time frame: Baseline to week 4

  3. Changes in IBS-quality of life

    The IBS quality of life (IBS-QOL) questionnaire - this consists of 34 questions which are summed and averaged for a total score, in addition to eight subscale scores (Dysphoria, Interference with Activity, Body Image, Health Worries, Food Avoidance, Social Reaction, Sexuality, Social Relationship). Total and subscale scores are transformed to a 0-100 scale. Higher scores indicate better IBS-specific QOL.

    Time frame: Baseline to week 4

  4. Acceptability of dietary restriction

    The acceptability of dietary restriction questionnaire is based on the adapted nutrition related quality of life (QOL) questionnaire. Responses are recorded using a Likert scale, with the responses of agree, neutral and disagree.

    Time frame: Week 4

  5. Food related quality of life (QOL) questionnaire

    The food related QOL questionnaire is a seven-item questionnaire based on the food-related QOL tool (Satisfaction with Food-related Life). Responses are recorded on Likert scale, as either agree, neutral and disagree.

    Time frame: Week 4

  6. Comprehensive Nutrition Assessment Questionnaire

    The Comprehensive Nutrition Assessment Questionnaire is a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, consisting of 297 questions, assessing macronutrient and micronutrient intake, as well as FODMAPs, fibre, starch, glycaemic index and glycaemic load

    Time frame: Baseline to week 4

  7. Changes in stool dysbiosis index

    Participants will provide a stool sample both pre- and post-dietary intervention. Data will be analysed by using the GA-map™ Dysbiosis Test (Genetic Analysis AS, Oslo, Norway). Bacterial profiles will be assigned a dysbiosis index (DI), on a scale from 0 to 5, with a DI score of 2 or lower being classified as being within the non dysbiotic region compared to the normobiotic reference range. A DI score of greater than 2 will be considered to be dysbiotic, with a higher DI number indicating greater dysbiosis from the reference range.

    Time frame: Baseline to week 4

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Study locations

1 site
  • Royal Hallamshire Hospital
    Sheffield, South Yorkshire S10 2JF, United Kingdom
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References and documents

Publications

  • Rej A, Sanders DS, Shaw CC, Buckle R, Trott N, Agrawal A, Aziz I. Efficacy and Acceptability of Dietary Therapies in Non-Constipated Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Randomized Trial of Traditional Dietary Advice, the Low FODMAP Diet, and the Gluten-Free Diet. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022 Dec;20(12):2876-2887.e15. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2022.02.045. Epub 2022 Feb 28. PubMed 35240330 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — IPD will not be shared

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 12, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04072991
Lead sponsor
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Aug 28, 2019
Start date
Apr 18, 2019
Primary completion
Nov 30, 2021
Completion
Nov 30, 2021
Last update
Apr 12, 2023

Study contacts

Imran Aziz, MD
principal investigator · Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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