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Diseases » Irritable bowel syndrome » Summary

What is Irritable bowel syndrome?

Contents

Irritable bowel syndrome: Introduction
Types of Irritable bowel syndrome
Prognosis
Complications
Prevalence
Other names for Irritable bowel syndrome
Who gets Irritable bowel syndrome?
What causes Irritable bowel syndrome?
What are the symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome?
Organs Affected by Irritable bowel syndrome
How is it treated?
Society issues for Irritable bowel syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome: Introduction

What is Irritable bowel syndrome?

Irritable bowel syndrome: Spasms in the colon wall.
Irritable bowel syndrome: A disorder with chronic or recurrent colonic symptoms without a clearcut etiology. This condition is characterized by chronic or recurrent ABDOMINAL PAIN, bloating, MUCUS in FECES, and an erratic disturbance of DEFECATION.
Source - Diseases Database
Irritable bowel syndrome: recurrent abdominal pain and diarrhea (often alternating with periods of constipation); often associated with emotional stress.
Source - WordNet 2.1

Irritable bowel syndrome is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Irritable bowel syndrome, or a subtype of Irritable bowel syndrome, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Irritable bowel syndrome: Introduction

Types of Irritable bowel syndrome:

Broader types of Irritable bowel syndrome:

How many people get Irritable bowel syndrome?

Prevalance of Irritable bowel syndrome: 5 million in the USA 1987 (Digestive diseases in the United States: Epidemiology and Impact – NIH Publication No. 94-1447, US Government Printing Office, 1994); 11 per 1000 (NHIS95)
Prevalance Rate of Irritable bowel syndrome: approx 1 in 54 or 1.84% or 5 million people in USA [about data]
Lifetime risk of Irritable bowel syndrome: about 30% of people
Prevalance of Irritable bowel syndrome: 5 million people (1987) (Source: excerpt from Digestive Diseases Statistics: NIDDK) ... IBS is a common problem, affecting up to one in five people. (Source: excerpt from Irritable Bowel Syndrome: NWHIC)

Who gets Irritable bowel syndrome?

Patient Profile for Irritable bowel syndrome: Usually adults aged 20-60

Profile for Irritable bowel syndrome: IBS often begins in the teen years or young adulthood but can affect people of any age. (Source: excerpt from Irritable Bowel Syndrome: NWHIC)

Gender Profile for Irritable bowel syndrome: Women 75%.

Gender Profile for Irritable bowel syndrome: The majority of people with IBS (perhaps 75 percent) are women. (Source: excerpt from Irritable Bowel Syndrome: NWHIC)

How serious is Irritable bowel syndrome?

Prognosis of Irritable bowel syndrome: Mostly good. Not usually serious or life-shortening although attacks are problematic and often recur.
Complications of Irritable bowel syndrome: see complications of Irritable bowel syndrome
Prognosis of Irritable bowel syndrome: IBS causes a great deal of discomfort and distress, but it does not cause permanent harm to the intestines and does not lead to intestinal bleeding of the bowel or to a serious disease such as cancer. Often IBS is just a mild annoyance, but for some people it can be disabling. They may be unable to go to social events, to go out to a job, or to travel even short distances. Most people with IBS, however, are able to control their symptoms through medications prescribed by their physicians, diet, and stress management. (Source: excerpt from Irritable Bowel Syndrome: NIDDK) ... IBS can be painful. But it does not damage the bowel or cause any other diseases. (Source: excerpt from IBS: NIDDK)

What causes Irritable bowel syndrome?

Causes of Irritable bowel syndrome: see causes of Irritable bowel syndrome
Causes of Irritable bowel syndrome: The cause of IBS is not known, and as yet there is no cure. Doctors call it a functional disorder because there is no sign of disease when the colon is examined. (Source: excerpt from Irritable Bowel Syndrome: NIDDK)

What are the symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome?

Symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome: see symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome

Complications of Irritable bowel syndrome: see complications of Irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Irritable bowel syndrome.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Irritable bowel syndrome.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Irritable bowel syndrome: see treatments for Irritable bowel syndrome
Research for Irritable bowel syndrome: see research for Irritable bowel syndrome

Society issues for Irritable bowel syndrome

Hospitalizations for Irritable bowel syndrome: 34,000 in the USA 1987 (Digestive diseases in the United States: Epidemiology and Impact – NIH Publication No. 94-1447, US Government Printing Office, 1994)

Hospitalization statistics for Irritable bowel syndrome: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Irritable bowel syndrome:

0.045% (5,798) of hospital consultant episodes were for irritable bowel syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
92% of hospital consultant episodes for irritable bowel syndrome required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
28% of hospital consultant episodes for irritable bowel syndrome were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
72% of hospital consultant episodes for irritable bowel syndrome were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
24% of hospital consultant episodes for irritable bowel syndrome required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
5.5 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for irritable bowel syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
3 days was the median length of stay in hospitals for irritable bowel syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
more statistics...»

Hospitalizations for Irritable bowel syndrome: 34,000 (1987) (Source: excerpt from Digestive Diseases Statistics: NIDDK)
Physician office visits for Irritable bowel syndrome: 3.55 million in the USA 1987 (Digestive diseases in the United States: Epidemiology and Impact – NIH Publication No. 94-1447, US Government Printing Office, 1994) Physician office visits for Irritable bowel syndrome: 3.5 million (1987) (Source: excerpt from Digestive Diseases Statistics: NIDDK)
Prescriptions for Irritable bowel syndrome: 2.2 million in the USA 1985 (Digestive diseases in the United States: Epidemiology and Impact – NIH Publication No. 94-1447, US Government Printing Office, 1994)
Prescriptions for Irritable bowel syndrome: 2.2 million (1985) (Source: excerpt from Digestive Diseases Statistics: NIDDK)
Disability from Irritable bowel syndrome: 400,000 in the USA 1983-87 (Digestive diseases in the United States: Epidemiology and Impact – NIH Publication No. 94-1447, US Government Printing Office, 1994)
Disability from Irritable bowel syndrome: 400,000 people (1983-87) (Source: excerpt from Digestive Diseases Statistics: NIDDK)