No abstract

(1) Many patients hold misconceptions about IBS being caused by dietary habits, developing into cancer, colitis, causing malnutrition, or worsening with age; (2) patients most often seek information about dietary changes; and (3) educational needs may be different for persons using the internet for medical information.

Patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) often experience distress, reduced quality of life, a perceived lack of validation, and an unsatisfactory experience with health care providers. A health care provider can provide the patient with a framework in which to understand and legitimize their symptoms, remove self-doubt or blame, and identify factors that contribute to symptoms that the patient can influence or control. This framework is implemented with the consideration of important factors that impact FGIDs, such as gender, age, society, and the patient's perspective. Although the majority of FGIDs, including globus, rumination syndrome, IBS, bloating, constipation, functional abdominal pain, sphincter of Oddi dyskinesia, pelvic floor dysfunction, and extra-intestinal manifestations, are more prevalent in women than men, functional chest pain, dyspepsia, vomiting, and anorectal pain do not appear to vary by gender. Studies suggest sex differences in somatic but not visceral pain perception, motility, and central processing of visceral pain; although further research is required in autonomic nervous system dysfunction, genetics and immunologic/microbiome. Gender differences in response to psychological treatments, antidepressants, fiber, probiotics, and anticholinergics have not been adequately studied. However, a greater clinical response to 5-HT antagonists but not 5-HT agonists has been reported in women compared with men.

The Patient-Provider (P-P) relationship is the foundation of medical practice. The quality of this relationship is essential, particularly for the management of chronic illness such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), since it correlates with disease improvement. A significant aspect of fostering the P-P relationship is providing effective patient-centered education about IBS. An effective education empowers the patients to achieve the main therapeutic goals: to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life. Method: A literature search of PubMed was conducted using the terms “Irritable Bowel syndrome”, “Patient Physician Relationship”, “Patient Provider Relationship”, and “Patient Physician interaction”. Preference was given to articles with a clearly defined methodology and those with control groups if applicable/appropriate. This article provides a review of the literature on Patient-Provider interaction and patient education as it relates to IBS and provides practical recommendations on how to optimize this important relationship.