Study looks at impact of gluten-free diet on comorbid celiac disease, fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome

Researchers in Spain have conducted a small pilot study to examine the impact of a gluten-free diet on patients simultaneously with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia, and celiac disease.

According to scientists at the University of Granada, researchers suggest that fibromyalgia patients would benefit from a specific diet and supplementation, including the elimination of certain foods from their diet, including gluten. The researchers suggest that many people with fibromyalgia were found to have nutritional insufficiencies that potentially aggravated the condition.

The study analysed the benefits of a gluten-free diet on patients suffering simultaneously from fibromyalgia, IBC and celiac disease. Sufferers of fibromyalgia often experience multiple chronic conditions including irritable bowel syndrome and celiac disease, which the Spanish study sought to correlate and address. Recent studies show that eliminating gluten in one’s diet can impact fibromyalgia, IBS, and celiac disease occurring simultaneously in people, also known as comorbidity. Comorbidity is the presence of one or more additional diseases or disorders co-occurring with a primary disease or disorder.

IBS is a common gastrointestinal functional disease wherein chronic abdominal pain or discomfort is accompanied by diarrhea, constipation, defecation urgency and bloating. Fibromyalgia patients are often affected by IBS, according to the Spanish researchers, stating that, “…32 to 70%of people with fibromyalgia have IBS.” Celiac disease is a condition where the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, leading to difficulty in digesting food.

The study, conducted by Drs. Carrasco, García-Leiva, Calandre, and Slim, compared a group of 178 fibromyalgia patients to a control group of 131 healthy participants. The data from the fibromyalgia group was then compared to data in the literature on IBS and celiac patients.

The researchers found that those with fibromyalgia have a higher incidence of fatigue, depression and memory loss than celiac patients. They have a lower incidence of anemia. But in all other aspects — especially gluten sensitivity — they were very much like celiac patients. Based on this, the researchers concluded that food sensitivity might be a cause or contributing factor to a large portion of the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.

Based on this, the researchers concluded that food sensitivity may be a cause or contributing factor to a large portion of the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.

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