Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35728042›Full record

SynthesisThe American journal of clinical nutrition2022

Effects of a low FODMAP diet on the colonic microbiome in irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Daniel So, Amy Loughman, Heidi M Staudacher

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
51citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
9.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

51 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Effects of a Low FODMAP Diet in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Patient Experiences: A Mixed Methods Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025
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  15. Short-chain fatty acids.Nature metabolism · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Daniel SoDepartment of Gastroenterology, Central Clinical School, Monash University and Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Amy LoughmanFood & Mood Centre, Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
Heidi M StaudacherFood & Mood Centre, Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
Deakin University · AUAlfred Health · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA low fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAP) diet is increasingly used to manage symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Although this approach may alter the colonic microbiome, the nature of these changes has not been comprehensively synthesized.

objectivesThe aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials examining the impact of a low FODMAP diet on the composition and function of the microbiome in patients with IBS.

methodsA systematic search was conducted for randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of a low FODMAP diet on the colonic microbiome in patients with IBS in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and Web of Science from inception to April 2022. Outcomes included diversity of the microbiome, specific bacterial abundances, fecal SCFA concentration, and fecal pH. For fecal SCFA concentrations and pH, meta-analyses were performed via a random-effects model.

resultsNine trials involving 403 patients were included. There were no clear effects of the low FODMAP diet on diversity of the microbiome. A low FODMAP diet consistently led to lower abundance of Bifidobacteria, but there were no clear effects on diversity of the microbiome or abundances of other specific taxa. There were no differences in total fecal SCFA concentration between the low FODMAP diet and control diets (standardized mean difference: -0.25; 95% CI: -0.63, 0.13; P = 0.20), nor were there differences for fecal concentrations of specific SCFAs or fecal pH.

conclusionsIn patients with IBS, the effects of a low FODMAP diet on the colonic microbiome appear to be specific to Bifidobacteria with no consistent impacts on other microbiome metrics, including diversity, fecal SCFA concentrations, and fecal pH. Further, adequately powered trials are needed to confirm these findings.This review was registered at https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ as CRD42020192243.

Indexed as

Irritable Bowel SyndromeMicrobiotaBifidobacteriumDietDiet, Carbohydrate-RestrictedDisaccharidesFermentationHumansMonosaccharidesOligosaccharidesDisaccharidesMonosaccharidesOligosaccharidescolonic microbiomecolonic microbiotaFODMAPirritable bowel syndromeshort-chain fatty acids

Identifiers

PMID35728042
PMCPMC9535515
OpenAlexW4283204030

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.