The relationship between mental disorders and irritable bowel syndrome

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common abnormality and is associated with symptoms like abdominal pain or defecation discomfort (i.e., constipation or diarrhea). Treatment of this abnormality requires a high cost. Psychiatric complications of this syndrome are numerous accordingly %20 to %60 of affected individuals suffers from them. Anxiety, depression and somatoform disorders are the most frequent complications. Materials and methods: This cross sectional-descriptive study was performed during 6 months on 76 patients who suffered from different gut abnormalities. The research tools were a general health questionnaire (GHQ-28), Rome–II criteria for diagnosis of irritable gut, demographic characteristic check list and clinical interview. Results: The prevalence of IBS was higher among females, married persons, younger people and city dwellers (p<0/05). The prevalence of the syndrome was not differed significantly among people with different levels of literacy. The incidence of depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms differed in control and IBS-affected groups, but there was not a significant difference between them in relation to social functionality (p<0/05). Conclusion: There is a strong relationship between psychological factors and IBS. Mental abnormalities such as depression, distress and somatic symptoms are prevalent among these individuals. So, paying attention to these mental disorders and use of non-medicinal treatment modalities along with medicinal treatments can lead to the reduction of treatment expense and better symptomatic therapy.