The speed of eating and functional dyspepsia in young women.
OBJECTIVE
Little information is available on whether the speed of eating differs between individuals with and without dyspepsia, mainly because controlled studies are usually not feasible.


METHODS
A survey was applied to 89 individuals with relatively controlled eating patterns, using questionnaires that assessed eating time and functional dyspepsia (FD) based on the Rome III criteria.


RESULTS
The prevalence of FD was 12% (11 of 89 participants), and 7% (6 of 89) were diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The proportion of individuals reporting that they ate their meals rapidly was higher for those with FD than for those without FD or GERD (control) (46% vs 17%, p=0.043), as was the reported eating speed (7.1+/-1.5 vs 5.8+/-2.0 [mean+/-SD], p=0.045; visual analog scale on which a higher score indicated faster eating). However, the measured eating time did not differ significantly between FD and controls (11.0+/-2.8 vs 12.8+/-3.3 minutes, p=0.098). The proportion of individuals who ate their meals within 13 minutes was significantly higher for those with FD than for controls (91% vs 51%, p=0.020).


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study suggest that eating speed affects dyspepsia. Further studies are warranted.
Sinn
Dong Hyun
DH
Department of Medicine, Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital, Daejeon, Korea.
Shin
Dong Hyuk
DH
Lim
Seong Woo
SW
Kim
Kyung-Mook
KM
Son
Hee Jung
HJ
Kim
Jae J
JJ
Rhee
Jong Chul
JC
Rhee
Poong-Lyul
PL