Case–Control Research Study of Auto-Brewery Syndrome

Background: Auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), also known as Gut Fermentation Syndrome and Endogenous Ethanol Fermentation, is afflicting people worldwide, but little is known about ABS patients’ demographics, health history, lifestyle factors, and diet. Method: We conducted a broad-based case–control survey study on 52 patients known to have a diagnosis of ABS and their household members. The research compares the symptomatic group (N ¼ 28) to the asymptomatic group (N ¼ 18) regarding lifestyle and health, diet, and medical history. Results: With a response rate of 88% and using rank-sum tests, the data demonstrate that patients with ABS have significant differences compared to people without ABS in lower quality bowel movements (P ¼.048), more frequent bowel movements (P ¼.038), more reports of malodorous breath (P ¼.0001), and self-classify as having poorer health (P ¼.009). Furthermore, participants with ABS consume more water (P ¼.038), consume less tea and coffee (P ¼.033), eat fewer dairy products (P ¼.0185), eat less candy (P ¼.032), eat out less and rely on food prepared at home (P ¼.043), have more aversion to starch (P ¼.008), and have more food sensitivities (P ¼.043) than the group without ABS. The ABS group also reports more diarrhea (P ¼.048), higher amounts of yeast in their gastrointestinal tract (P ¼.015), and using acne medication for a longer time (P ¼.037) than the control group. Conclusion: Patients with ABS have significant differences in their lifestyle and health, diet, and medical history compared to non-ABS participants and these differences warrant further research

Perceived Benefit of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for Back Pain: A National Survey

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is commonly used to treat back pain, but little is known about factors associated with improvement. Methods: We used data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey to examine the associations between the perceived helpfulness of various CAM therapies for back pain. Results: Approximately 6% of the US population used CAM to treat their back pain in 2002. Sixty percent of respondents who used CAM for back pain perceived a "great deal" of benefit. Using multivariable logistic regression, the factor associated with perceived benefit from CAM modalities was reporting that a reason for using CAM was that "conventional medical treatment would not help" (odds ratio