Abstract

Prevalence and Burden of Illness of Rome IV Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the United States: Results from a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Gastroenterology. 2023 Aug 16;S0016-5085(23)04889-8. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2023.08.010.Online ahead of print.

 

Christopher V Almario 1Eden Sharabi 2William D Chey 3Marie Lauzon 4Carolyn S Higgins 5Brennan M R Spiegel 6

 
     

Author information

1Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California; Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California; Cedars-Sinai Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CS-CORE), Los Angeles, California.

2Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.

3Division of Gastroenterology, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

4Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Research Center, Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Los Angeles, California.

5Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

6Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California; Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California; Cedars-Sinai Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CS-CORE), Los Angeles, California. Electronic address: brennan.spiegel@cshs.org.

Abstract

Background & aims: The estimated prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using Rome IV criteria in the United States (US) ranges from 4.7% to 5.3%, although these estimates arise from studies with relatively small sample sizes. This study assessed the prevalence of IBS and its associated burden of illness using a nationally representative data set with nearly 89,000 people in the US.

Methods: From May 3 to June 24, 2020, we performed an online survey described to participating adults aged ≥18 years old as a "national health survey." We recruited a representative sample of people in the US to complete the survey, which included the Rome IV IBS questionnaire, National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) gastrointestinal scales, and questions on health care-seeking behavior.

Results: Overall, 88,607 people completed the survey, of whom 5414 (6.1%) met Rome IV IBS criteria: mixed IBS (n = 1838 [33.9%]), constipation-predominant IBS (n = 1819 [33.6%]), diarrhea-predominant IBS (n = 1521 [28.1%]), and unsubtyped IBS (n = 236 [4.4%]). Women had higher odds for IBS compared with men, whereas racial/ethnic minorities had lower odds for IBS vs non-Hispanic Whites. Across the 3 main subtypes, 68.2% to 73.2% of people reported ever seeking care for their IBS symptoms, whereas 53.8% to 58.9% did so in the past 12 months.

Conclusions: In this nationwide US survey, we found that Rome IV IBS is slightly more prevalent (6.1%) vs prior estimates (4.7%-5.3%). Additional research is needed to determine whether this higher prevalence is in part due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic during which this study was conducted.

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