Genetically Tailored Diet: Future of Diet Management in IBS Patients? Study Reveals Insights - Video

An international study has found that genetic variations in human carbohydrate-active enzymes may affect how people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) respond to a carbohydrate-reduced diet.

The research, which is published in Clinical Gastroenterology & Hepatology, shows that irritable bowel syndrome patients with genetic defects in carbohydrate digestion had a better response to certain dietary interventions. This could lead to tailored treatments for IBS, using genetic markers to predict which patients benefit from specific diets.

Nutrigenetics has highlighted how changes in the DNA can affect the way we process food. Now, this pioneering new study suggests that genetic variations in human carbohydrate-active enzymes (hCAZymes) may similarly affect how irritable bowel syndrome patients respond to a carbohydrate-reduced (low-FODMAP) diet.

The team have now revealed that individuals with hypomorphic (defective) variants in human carbohydrate-active enzymes genes are more likely to benefit from a carbohydrate-reduced diet.

The study, involving 250 IBS patients, compared two treatments: a diet low in fermentable carbohydrates (FODMAPs) and the antispasmodic medication otilonium bromide. Strikingly, of the 196 patients on the diet, those carrying defective human carbohydrate-active enzymes genes showed marked improvement compared to non-carriers, and the effect was particularly pronounced in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D), who were six times more likely to respond to the diet. In contrast, this difference was not observed in patients receiving medication, underscoring the specificity of genetic predisposition in dietary treatment efficacy.