A study of nearly 16,000 people has found that precision nutrition and lifestyle care delivered meaningful relief to more than half of those with irritable bowel syndrome.

Digbi Health analysed 15,933 members of its precision biology programme, which personalises care using gut microbiome, genetic and glucose-response data. The study is posted as a preprint on medRxiv.

After 12 weeks, 53.8 per cent of symptomatic members improved by at least 50 points on the IBS Symptom Severity Scale — the benchmark for a clinically meaningful change. Response rose with severity: 71 per cent of severe cases improved.

The authors corrected for “regression to the mean”, the tendency for people to improve after enrolling when their symptoms peak. They also tested the result against missing follow-up data and medication use.

The findings suggest personalised approaches could scale IBS care, though the study has not yet been peer-reviewed.

The study tracked change at 4, 12 and 26 weeks. Improvement held across every age, sex, income and ethnicity subgroup tested, the authors said.