Medically reviewed by Onikepe Adegbola, MD, PhD
Many individuals diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are looking for an effective treatment option to relieve the physical symptoms of the disorder and the socioeconomic burden that often accompanies treatment options. In order to establish the cost-effectiveness of small-intestinal release peppermint oil as a therapy for IBS, researchers from Maastricht University Medical Center, Gilders Vallei Hospital, and other prestigious medical facilities and universities in the Netherlands conducted a study.
The study, “A trial-based economic evaluation of peppermint oil for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome,” was published in the United European Gastroenterology Journal in September 2021.
126 people with IBS were randomly assigned to an eight-week treatment group that received small-intestinal release peppermint oil and an eight-week control group that received a placebo therapy at several medical facilities throughout the Netherlands. The key metrics utilized to compare data between the two groups, based on Food & Drug Administration (FDA) criteria, were additional costs per “Quality Adjusted Life Years” and incremental costs per patient with effectively managed abdominal discomfort.
In the peppermint oil group, researchers saw higher effectiveness based on both the incremental cost calculations compared with the placebo control group. Additionally, Peppermint oil had an 89% probability of cost-effectiveness based on an acceptability curve. As a result, the research indicated that peppermint oil is a cost-effective therapy for IBS, particularly when the major criterion for success was a reduction in gastrointestinal discomfort. However, more information and further studies must continue to examine the use of small-intestinal release peppermint oil as a cost-effective option for IBS treatment.
Reference:
Weerts, Z., Essers, B., Jonkers, D., Willems, J., Janssen, D., Witteman, B., Clemens, C., Westendorp, A., Masclee, A., & Keszthelyi, D. (2021). A trial-based economic evaluation of peppermint oil for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. United European gastroenterology journal, 9(9), 997–1006. https://doi.org/10.1002/ueg2.12134
