Quality of Life in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome Seen in Referral Centers Versus Primary Care: The Impact of Gender and Predominant Bowel Pattern

Abstract

IBS female patients seen in referral centers versus primary care is a highly selected group with reduced QOL. QOL in IBS is affected by gender, but not by subgroup. Our findings have implications for the generalizability of results in IBS trials. Fatigue is a common symptom in IBS that correlates to general well-being and psychological and subjective gastrointestinal symptoms.

Diarrhoea is not the only symptom that needs to be treated in patients with microscopic colitis

“…This requirement is not at hand for MC, but has to be considered for the future. Irritable bowel syndrome is more common in women than in men, and as HRQOL and experiences of symptoms differ between genders, both IBS and MC should be studied separately for women and men [11].…”

Gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological well-being in patients with microscopic colitis

“…Microscopic colitis (MC) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are both gastrointestinal disorders/disturbances that affect the patient's daily life and well-being (1,2,3). Many symptoms are similar for MC and IBS, like abdominal pain, bloating and change in bowel habits, but MC is characterized by watery diarrhoea, and IBS is more often associated with abdominal pain, bloating and alternating diarrhoea or constipation (4,5).…”

A course of instruction for women with irritable bowel syndrome

“…Similar results have been presented in other studies [41] who reported that well informed patients were associated with fewer follow-up visits. Apart from increased knowledge, the characteristics of the symptoms as well as their duration may also influence the patients' need of consultations [2,26].…”

“…However, patients with IBS are often given their diagnosis at a primary care centre and only a minority of them is referred to the hospital for a second opinion. In general, hospital outpatients have more severe symptoms and less psychological well-being than patients being treated at a primary care centre [26,45].…”

“…Patients who also had other severe chronic diseases such as liver or kidney diseases, chronic pulmonary or heart diseases, serious mental diseases or seizure disorders, were excluded. Only few men with IBS were identified, and since there are differences related to IBS between women and men [25][26][27] only women were selected for this study. Further, we thought it would be easier for the women to discuss their problems in the group if only women were included.…”