Table 6 Characteristics of the five studies of SCFAs in the meta-analysis
References | Year | Location | n, IBS | n, Control | IBS diagnosis | Control composition | Age, IBS (range, \({\overline{\text{x}}} + {\text{s}}\)) | Female IBS, n | Age, HC (range, \({\overline{\text{x}}} + {\text{s}}\)) | Female HC, n | Sample | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ringel-Kulka et al. [26] | 2015 | America | 114 | 33 | Rome III | Healthy controls | 35.4 ± 11.3 | 98 | 33.9 ± 13.0 | 29 | Feces | Gas chromatography |
Tana et al. [25] | 2010 | Japan | 26 | 26 | Rome II | Healthy controls | 21.7 ± 2.0 | 13 | 21.9 ± 3.9 | 13 | Feces | HPLC |
Kopecny and Simunek [27] | 2002 | Czech | 16 | 5 | Not reported | Healthy controls | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Feces | Gas chromatography |
Vernia et al. [28] | 1987 | Italy | 38 | 50 | Not reported | Healthy controls | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Feces | Gas liquid chromatograph |
Mortensen et al. [8] | 1987 | Denmark | 18 | 9 | Not reported | Healthy controls | 26–68 | 14 | Not reported | Not reported | Feces | Gas liquid chromatography |