Irritable Bowel Syndrome Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Irritable Bowel Syndrome, including details on treatment, symptoms, digestion, nutrition, diet, drugs.

Psychological distress and GI symptoms are related to severity of bloating in women with irritable bowel syndrome.

Park HJ, Jarrett M, Cain K, Heitkemper M

Division of Nursing Science, College of Health Science, Ewha Womans University, 11-1 Daehyun-Dong, Seoul 120-750, South Korea.

Bloating is a frequent complaint of women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We compared retrospective and daily diary gastrointestinal and psychological distress symptoms in 183 women ages 18-48 in three IBS subgroups: Minimal-Bloating, Mild-Bloating, Moderate-Severe-Bloating. More women with moderate to severe levels of bloating reported a history of hard stools, straining to have a stool, a history of depressive disorders, and more severe daily symptoms of depression and anxiety as compared to women with minimal or mild bloating symptoms. Appraising the level of symptom severity and psychological distress is vital to the selection of appropriate treatment options.

Published 19 March 2008 in Res Nurs Health, 31(2): 98-107.
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