IBS. or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, has been linked with a lack of vitamin D for the first time in a study published in the British Medical Journal.

IBS -- a condition for which there is no single known cause and no single known cure -- is a chronic disorder of the gastrointestinal tract that affects around 15 per cent of the Western population, according to France's Association of Patients with IBS.

Very little is known about why and how the condition develops, although food and stress have been identified as aggravating factors. It has a major impact on patients' daily lives causing phases of acute diarrhea and constipation, bloating, and spasms.

"Our work has shown that most IBS sufferers in our trial had insufficient levels of vitamin D. Furthermore, there was an association between vitamin D status and the sufferer's perceived quality of life", said Dr Bernard Corfe, the leading author of the study by the University of Sheffield's Molecular Gastroenterology Research Group.

Out of the 51 sufferers tested, 82 per cent had insufficient levels of vitamin D.

British researcher Vicky Grant described her experience to the BMJ. She experienced a significant improvement in symptoms after the introduction of a high dose of vitamin D3, around five years ago:

"I wasn't really expecting the vitamin D supplements to work as I had tried and failed with so many other treatments. I'm not cured but I have found that supplementation has dramatically improved my IBS ... I read about other IBS patients experiencing success with vitamin D, via the online patient community."

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient which can behave like a hormone. It is obtained from food and the skin's exposure to sunlight. It is involved in the process of bone regeneration to ensure appropriate bone density.

This research paves the way for possible treatments for this condition which has been incurable up until now. Sheffield University Medical School plans to carry out a study analyzing the effects of vitamin D3 on 100 patients with IBS.

Vitamin D is found naturally in oily fish such as sardines and mackerel, calf's liver, eggs and cod liver oil.