Abstract

Background

Non-celiac wheat sensitivity (NCWS) most frequently presents clinically with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-like symptoms, although many extra-intestinal manifestations have also been attributed to it. No studies to date have evaluated the presence and frequency of gynecological symptoms in NCWS.

Aim

To evaluate the frequency of gynecological disorders in patients with NCWS.

Patients and Methods

Sixty-eight women with NCWS were included in the study. A questionnaire investigating gynecological symptoms and recurrent cystitis was administered, and patients reporting symptoms were then examined by specialists. Three control groups were selected: 52 patients with IBS not related to NCWS, 56 patients with celiac disease (CD), and 71 healthy controls.

Results

59% of the patients with NCWS showed gynecological symptoms, a higher frequency than in healthy controls (P = 0.04), IBS controls (P = 0.01) and CD controls (P = 0.02). Menstrual cycle alterations were more frequent in patients with NCWS than in healthy controls (26.5% vs 11.3%; P = 0.03); the patients with NCWS suffered from recurrent vaginitis (16%) and dyspareunia (6%) significantly more frequently than healthy controls. Twenty-nine percent of patients with NCWS reported recurrent cystitis, a finding higher than in the control groups (vs healthy P = 0.0001, vs IBS P = 0.001, vs CD controls P = 0.04). Microbiological examinations were negative in most of the patients with NCWS and recurrent vaginitis or cystitis. During the 1-year follow-up, 46% of patients with menstrual disorders and 36% with recurrent vaginitis reported resolution of symptoms on a wheat-free diet.

Conclusions

Patients with NCWS showed a significantly higher frequency of gynecological symptoms and recurrent cystitis than patients with IBS.

中文翻译：

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非快速性小麦敏感性患者的妇科疾病

摘要

背景

尽管非肠道小麦敏感性（NCWS）也有许多肠外表现，但临床上最常表现为肠易激综合征（IBS）样症状。迄今为止，尚无研究评估NCWS中妇科症状的存在和频率。

目标

评估NCWS患者的妇科疾病发生率。

患者和方法

这项研究包括了68名患有NCWS的妇女。进行了调查妇科症状和复发性膀胱炎的问卷，然后由专家对报告症状的患者进行了检查。选择了三个对照组：52名与NCWS不相关的IBS患者，56名腹腔疾病（CD）患者和71名健康对照组。

结果

59％的NCWS患者表现出妇科症状，其频率高于健康对照者（P  = 0.04），IBS对照者（P  = 0.01）和CD对照者（P  = 0.02）。与健康对照组相比，NCWS患者的月经周期改变更为频繁（26.5％vs 11.3％；P  = 0.03）；与健康对照相比，NCWS患者罹患复发性阴道炎（16％）和性交困难（6％）的频率明显更高。29％的NCWS患者报告了复发性膀胱炎，这一发现高于对照组（与健康对照组P  = 0.0001，IBS P  = 0.001，CD对照P = 0.04）。大多数NCWS和复发性阴道炎或膀胱炎患者的微生物学检查均为阴性。在为期1年的随访中，有46％的月经紊乱患者和36％的复发性阴道炎患者报告说，无麦饮食可以缓解症状。

结论

NCWS患者的妇科症状和复发性膀胱炎的发生率明显高于IBS患者。