Photo Credit: Pornpak Khunatorn
The following is a summary of “Fructose malabsorption and fructan malabsorption are associated in patients with irritable bowel syndrome,” published in the April 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Sia et al.
Fructose and fructan, common dietary culprits, are being examined for their combined impact on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms.
Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis using hydrogen breath tests (HBT) to explore how fructose and fructan malabsorption relate to patients with IBS.
They identified patients with IBS who had undergone fructose and fructan HBTs and extracted their results from the electronic medical record (EMR). The HBTs involved administering a 25 g fructose or 10 g fructan solution, with breath hydrogen readings taken every 30 min for 3 h. Patients were deemed positive for fructose or fructan malabsorption if breath hydrogen levels surpassed 20 ppm.
The results showed 186 patients with IBS, 71 (38.2%) tested positive for fructose malabsorption and 91 (48.9%) tested positive for fructan malabsorption, 42 (22.6%) tested positive for both fructose and fructan malabsorption. Positive fructose HBT readings were significantly associated with positive fructan HBT readings (P=0.0283). Patients who tested positive for either fructose malabsorption or fructan malabsorption had 1.951 times higher odds of testing positive for the other carbohydrate.
Investigators concluded that patients with IBS with fructose malabsorption were more likely to have fructan malabsorption, suggesting both should be tested for.
Source: bmcgastroenterol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12876-024-03230-x