Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Up to Date

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common chronic functional disease of the gastrointestinal system. Although the disease affects a large part of the population, some patients do not refer any health care services since they accept their symptoms as normal. Etiology of the disease has not been fully understood. Although the treatment of IBS is usually decided based on the symptoms of the patients, the most common therapeutic approaches for IBS include changes in lifestyle (especially nutrition), pharmacological and psychological treatments. The current diet approach, which is thought to be useful for IBS patients might include the following measures: a diet low in fermentable oligo-, di- and monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs), limitation or exclusion of gas-producing foods and/or lactose and gluten increasing/decreasing the amount of fiber according to IBS subclasses. Further research is needed to understand the etiology of IBS and to develop new treatment approaches.