The Lifetime Prevalence of Anxiety Disorders Among Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Abstract

Background. The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder, ranges from 10% to 20% in the general population. It is estimated that from 40% to 90% of persons with a diagnosis of IBS suffer from mental disorders, mainly anxiety and depressive disorders. Objectives. The aim of the study was to assess the lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders in IBS patients and to compare it with the prevalence of these disorders in a control group of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Material and Methods. The study included 106 patients with IBS and 53 patients with GERD. IBS was diagnosed according to the Rome II criteria after a basic evaluation to exclude an organic disease. Anxiety disorders were diagnosed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) in accordance with ICD-10 diagnostic criteria. Results. Anxiety disorders during the patient's lifetime were diagnosed in 50 IBS patients (47%). Specific phobias occurred in 23.5% of them, social phobias in 10.4 %, generalized anxiety disorder in 10.4%, panic disorder in 3.8% and agoraphobia in 8.5%. In the control group with GERD, anxiety disorders during the subject's lifetime were diagnosed in 30% of the group. The difference in the prevalence of anxiety disorders between patients with IBS and GERD was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusions. The lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders in IBS patients was higher than in the control group with GERD (47% vs. 30%). The prevalence rate of anxiety disorders in the control group with GERD was similar to the prevalence rate in the general population (Adv Clin Exp Med 2014, 23, 6, 987-992).

A Comprehensive Look at Irritable Bowel Syndrome and its Associated Factors Considering the Rome IV Criteria: A Penalized Smoothly Clipped Absolute Deviation Regression Approach in the Pars Cohort Study

“…These individuals had a lifetime odds ratio of 2.08 (95% CI: 1.34 - 3.24) for acquiring mood disorders and 1.86 (95% CI: 1.08 - 3.21) for anxiety disorders in their study. In a study in 2014, Grzesiak and colleagues 27 evaluated the lifetime prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders among patients with IBS and patients with gastric reflux using the ICD-10 criteria. They found that anxiety disorders existed in about 47% of the patients with IBS.…”

Inaccuracy of patient‐reported descriptions of and satisfaction with bowel actions in irritable bowel syndrome

“…The major impact of IBS is on quality of life, with several studies showing this to be comparable to patients with migraines and asthma . Many patients experience a fear of symptoms and even social phobia, in which an excessive fear of symptoms leads to avoidance of social situations . For this reason, it may be that self‐assessment of symptoms may be the most appropriate for clinical management as treatments are aimed to improve symptoms to the patients’ level of satisfaction.…”

“…[14][15][16] Many patients experience a fear of symptoms 17 and even social phobia, in which an excessive fear of symptoms leads to avoidance of social situations. 18 For this reason, it may be that selfassessment of symptoms may be the most appropriate for clinical management as treatments are aimed to improve symptoms to the patients' level of satisfaction. While patients' interpretation of symptoms is thus clearly important, discrepancies between diarrhea definitions are an important confounder in research, where homogeneity is essential for accurate endpoints and outcomes.…”

The Experience Sampling Method ‐ a new digital tool for momentary symptom assessment in IBS: an exploratory study

“…This can affect perception and interpretation of symptoms, especially pain, and may result in state‐congruent and ecological recall bias in retrospective questionnaires . Affective comorbidity such as anxiety disorders, are prevalent in IBS patients and the presence of psychological comorbidity may contribute to a distorted perception and memory of GI symptoms as well . Furthermore, the inability to record temporal dynamics of symptoms renders retrospective questionnaires less suitable for measurement of symptoms fluctuating over time.…”

“…[7][8][9] Affective comorbidity such as anxiety disorders, are prevalent in IBS patients and the presence of psychological comorbidity may contribute to a distorted perception and memory of GI symptoms as well. 10,11 Furthermore, the inability to record temporal dynamics of symptoms renders retrospective questionnaires less suitable for measurement of symptoms fluctuating over time. Finally, it has been shown that paper diaries are subject to low compliance rates, as low as approximately 10%, due to backfilling of questionnaires.…”