Factors influencing disease specific QoL in IBS

Key clinical point: Gastrointestinal (GI)‐specific anxiety was the strongest contributor to reduced quality of life (QoL) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Major finding: The factors independently associated with reduced IBS-QoL were a higher stool frequency (β −0.109; P  =  .022), GI (β −0.160; P  =  .009) and overall somatic symptom severity (β −0.171; P  =  .005), and psychological distress (β −0.194; P  =  .011), with GI‐specific anxiety (β −0.330; P < .001) being the strongest contributor.

Study details: This study included 314 patients with IBS from 2 prospective cohorts who completed the IBS-QoL and self‐report symptom questionnaires and tests for the measurement of oroanal transit time and rectal sensitivity.

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Disclosures: This study was funded by Swedish state under the agreement between the Swedish government and the county councils (the ALF‐agreement) and others. Some authors declared serving as consultants/advisory board members or on speakers’ bureau for various sources.

Source: Melchior C et al. Irritable bowel syndrome: Factors of importance for disease-specific quality of life. United European Gastroenterol J. 2022 (Jul 13). Doi: 10.1002/ueg2.12277