Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in irritable bowel syndrome-patients

Abstract EN

Background : Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder in which abdominal pain is associated with defecation or a change in bowel habit with features of disordered defecation and distention.

It is generally thought that most patients develop symptoms in response of psychological factors and a single cause is unlikely.

Objectives : To estimate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in IBS-patients and to evaluate the effect of different demographic factors on its frequency.

Methods: This is a cross sectional study that enrolled 55 patients with IBS who had been attend the out patient clinic of internal medicine at Al-Diwaniya Teaching Hospital during period between 1st of May 2008-30th of November 2008.

Diagnosis was done by clinical examination and exclusion of specific cause of abdominal pain.

Psychiatric disorder diagnosed according to criteria of structural clinical interview for diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder-4- revision (DSM-IV-R).

Results : This study revealed that 100% patients having psychiatric morbidity and 3 types of diagnosis are define; including generalized anxiety disorders alone were 52.8%, major depressive disorders with anxiety were 41.8% and obsessive compulsive disorders with anxiety were 5.4%.

Conclusions : This study proves that the anxiety alone increase in young patients and depression increase in old age and with prolongation of disease duration.