title: Accelerated regional bowel transit and overweight shown in idiopathic bile acid malabsorption.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Overweight has recently been shown to accelerate small bowel transit. The role of gut transit and body weight in idiopathic bile acid malabsorption (IBAM) is unclear. We have prospectively studied gastrointestinal transit and body mass index (BMI) in patients with IBAM.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and ten patients with chronic diarrhea were prospectively included for transit measurements. All patients underwent a gastroscopy and colonoscopy, 75SeHCAT test for detection of bile acid malabsorption and calculation of BMI. Forty-three patients (15 men) had IBAM. A newly developed radiological procedure was used to measure gastrointestinal transit during one visit. The results were compared to results obtained in 83 healthy subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Colonic transit in women with IBAM was 0.8 (0.3-1.5) days versus 1.5 (1.0-3.7) days in healthy women (median and percentile 10 and 90; p < 0.0001). In men with IBAM it was 0.8 (0.1-1.0) days; in healthy men it was 1.3 (0.8-1.9) days, p < 0.0001. Segmental colonic transit was accelerated only in the distal colon in men and women with IBAM compared with healthy subjects. Small bowel transit time in women with IBAM was 1.9 (1.1-3.0) h versus 3.3 (1.5-6.3) h in healthy women, p= 0.0002. In men with IBAM it was 2.1 (1.2-3.2) h and 2.5 (1.4-4.3) h in healthy men (p= 0.04). BMI in patients with IBAM was 27.3 (20.4-33.8) kg/m2 and in healthy subjects it was 23.8 (20.5-26.2) kg/m2, p < 0.0001.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Accelerated small bowel and distal colonic transit as well as overweight are probably involved in the pathophysiology of IBAM.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Institute of Internal Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, University of Göteborg, Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Riadh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sadik
authors.forename: Hasse
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abrahamsson
authors.forename: Kjell-Arne
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Ung
authors.forename: Per-Ove
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Stotzer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005772:Gastrointestinal Transit; D006801:Humans; D008286:Malabsorption Syndromes / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts