The role of Blastocystis sp. and Dientamoeba fragilis in irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Rostami A, Riahi SM, Haghighi A, Saber V, Armon B, Seyyedtabaei SJ · Parasitology Research · 2017 July 01

Objective

To investigate the possible association between Blastocystis sp. and Dientamoeba fragilis infections with the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) through a systematic review and meta-analysis of relevant studies.

Conclusions

Individuals infected with Blastocystis were found to have a positive association with IBS, with a pooled odds ratio of 2.19, while no significant association was observed for Dientamoeba fragilis infection.

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Insights

The study indicates a positive link between Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Blastocystis infection, with no such association found for Dientamoeba fragilis infection.

For the methodology, a comprehensive search was conducted on academic databases including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane up until February 2017, to gather studies relating to the potential association between IBS and the infections of Blastocystis and Dientamoeba fragilis. From these sources, 17 relevant studies encompassing 5882 participants (2527 patients and 3310 controls) were chosen. Pooled odds ratio and confidence intervals were computed utilizing a random effects meta-analysis model. In the discussion, the analysis showed that individuals with Blastocystis infection are more likely to have IBS. This association was not seen with Dientamoeba fragilis infection. Additionally, in a subgroup analysis for Blastocystis infection, there were significant positive associations in all control groups. Subtypes ST1 and ST3 of the Blastocystis infection were also recognised as potential risk factors for IBS. Thus, the results affirm a positive relationship between Blastocystis infection and IBS.