The Association Between Adherence to the MIND Diet and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Background And Aims: No earlier study examined the association between adherence to the MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet and odds of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This study was conducted to examine the relationship between adherence to the MIND diet and odds of IBS among Iranian adults.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, dietary intakes of 3,362 adults were examined using a validated Dish-Based 106-item Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (DS-FFQ). The MIND diet score was constructed based on participants' dietary intakes obtained from DS-FFQ. IBS was evaluated using a modified Persian version of the Rome III questionnaire.

Results: Overall, 22.2% of the study population were affected by IBS (n = 748). We observed no significant relationship between adherence to the MIND diet and odds of IBS in the whole population (OR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.71-1.31). By gender and BMI status, no significant association between adherence to the MIND diet and odds of IBS was seen. Also, no significant association was found between adherence to the MIND diet and IBS subtypes.

Conclusion: No significant association was found between adherence to the MIND diet and odds of IBS. Further studies are needed to examine the association between dietary patterns and IBS.