The Relation between Dietary Patterns and Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders among Iranian Military Men

Assessing the relation between dietary habits and functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) is less investigated among military personnel. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association of certain eating patterns and FGIDs in Iranian army men.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 600 army personnel working in Kerman ground forces military station number 05, Iran. Participants were asked to define their weekly breakfast consumption, lunch intake time, and chewing efficiency. FGIDs were categorized as four groups including functional dyspepsia (FD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional constipation (FC) and functional diarrhea (FDi) diagnosed by Rome Ш criteria. Relation between variables was assessed through crude and multiple stepwise adjusted models.

The prevalence of FD, IBS, FC, and FDi in our study was 20%, 32.3%, 3%, and 53.2%, respectively. After adjustment of all potential confounding variables, more weekly breakfast consumption was associated with decreased FDi prevalence (odds ratio [OR]: 0.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.38–0.84, P = 0.005). Slowly lunch consumption declined prevalence of IBS (OR: 0.33, 95% CI = 0.13–0.84, P = 0.02). Individuals chewing their meals well had a lower percentage of IBS, FC, and FDi (OR: 0.53, 95% CI = 0.33–0.83, P = 0.006; OR: 0.24, 95% CI = 0.06–0.89, P = 0.03; and OR: 0.52, 95% CI = 0.34–0.79, P = 0.003, respectively).

This study suggested that increasing breakfast intake, slowly lunch consumption, and better food chewing could be effective decreasing FGIDs' prevalence and increasing army crews' quality of lives and work efficiency. Further studies required to confirm this relationship and define accurate pathophysiological mechanisms.