Evaluating the relationship between irritable bowel syndrome and stress

Introduction: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder of the gastrointestinal system characterized by special gastrointestinal symptoms without organic cause. The etiology of IBS is not clearly known but individuals with IBS mainly report symptoms compatible with psychopathologic disorders, abnormal personality traits and psychological distress. Objective of this study was to evaluate relationship between life event stress and IBS. Methods: This is a case-control survey performed on 76 patients with gastrointestinal disturbances with a diagnosis of IBS and were compared with the control group. The control group were randomly selected from all individuals without previous history of gastrointestinal disorder or referral to an internist and matched with the case group. Research tools included Paykel life event stressor test (with some modification), diagnostic criteria checklist foe IBS (Rome II), a checklist for demographic information and clinical interview. Data analysis was done by SPSS software. Results: There was a significant correlation between stress and IBS (P=0.002). In other words, the rate and severity of stress in IBS group was higher than control group. Other findings showed that among 65 life event stressors in IBS patients, the most severe stressor was related to consort death and the least severe was mild physical disorder. The most frequent stress in this group was increasing of life expenses which was reported by 50% of patients as one of the most prevalent life stressor, whereas it was 42% in the control group. Conclusion: Psychological distress and life event stressors are important components of IBS patients' life, which should be considered in designing therapeutic strategies.