A Study on the Relationship between Allergic Diseases and Gastrointestinal Discomfort Symptoms: Using Propensity Score Matching

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between allergic diseases and digestive discomfort symptoms using a dataset for the traditional Korean medicine examination.Methods: The study included 389 subjects in the allergy group, diagnosed with allergic diseases by either a Korean medicine doctor or modern medical doctor, and there were 4,160 subjects in the control group. Propensity score matching was used to control the factors affecting the allergic disease and digestive discomfort symptoms. These factors included age, sex, medication history, obesity, smoking status, alcohol consumption, meal frequency, meal quantity, eating speed, sleep quality, stress level, and physical activity, matched at a ratio of 1:1. Logistic regression was used to estimate the adjusted odds ratio of digestive discomfort symptoms in the allergy group compared to the control group.Results: Compared to the control group, subjects in the allergy group had a significantly higher risk of having abdominal distention 1.62 times (OR=1.62, 95% CI: 1.13-2.32, p-value=0.008) and postprandial fatigue 1.41 times (OR=1.41, 95% CI: 1.02-1.95, p-value=0.037).Conclusion: The study suggests that allergic diseases were associated with certain digestive discomfort symptoms. The findings of this study can serve as a basis for managing both allergic diseases and digestive discomfort symptoms together.