Fulltext

Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on irritable bowel syndrome

Quek SXZ 1 , Loo EXL 2 , Demutska A 3 , Chua CE 1 , Kew GS 1 , Wong S 4 Show all authors , Lau HX 5 , Low EXS 4 , Loh TL 6 , Lung OS 7 , Hung ECW 8 , Rahman MM 9 , Ghoshal UC 10 , Wong SH 11 , Cheung CKY 12 , Syam AF 13 , Tan N 14 , Xiao Y 14 , Liu JS 15 , Lu F 16 , Chen CL 17 , Lee YY 18 , Maralit RM 19 , Kim YS 20 , Oshima T 21 , Miwa H 22 , Pang J 22 , Siah KTH 1

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
  • 2 Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • 3 Department of Clinical Psychology, James Cook University, Singapore
  • 4 Department of Medicine, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Singapore
  • 5 Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
  • 6 Department of Otorhinolarygology, Head and Neck Surgery, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan, Malaysia
  • 7 Department of Anaesthesiology, Columbia Asia Hospital, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
  • 8 Cambridge Paediatrics, Shatin, Hong Kong
  • 9 Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Russel National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • 10 Department of Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute Medical Science, Lucknow, India
  • 11 Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
  • 12 State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • 13 Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia/Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • 14 Departments of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
  • 15 Department of Gastroenterology, Wuhan Union Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
  • 16 Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
  • 17 Department of Medicine, Buddhist Tzu Chi Hospital and University School of Medicine, Hualien, Taiwan
  • 18 St George and Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • 19 The Medical City, Metro Manila, Philippines
  • 20 Wonkwang Digestive Disease Research Institute, Gut and Food Healthcare, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan, South Korea
  • 21 Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan
  • 22 Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore
J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2021 Aug;36(8):2187-2197.
PMID: 33615534 DOI: 10.1111/jgh.15466

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Gastrointestinal manifestations of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may mimic irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and social distancing measures may affect IBS patients negatively. We aimed to study the impact of COVID-19 on respondents with self-reported IBS.

METHODS: We conducted an anonymized survey from May to June 2020 in 33 countries. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on personal hygiene and social distancing as well as psychological impact of COVID-19 were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed to determine differences in well-being and compliance to social distancing measures between respondents with and without self-reported IBS. Factors associated with improvement or worsening of IBS symptoms were evaluated.

RESULTS: Out of 2704 respondents, 2024 (74.9%) did not have IBS, 305 (11.3%) had self-reported IBS, and 374 (13.8%) did not know what IBS was. Self-reported IBS respondents reported significantly worse emotional, social, and psychological well-being compared with non-IBS respondents and were less compliant to social distancing measures (28.2% vs 35.3%, P = 0.029); 61.6% reported no change, 26.6% reported improvement, and 11.8% reported worsening IBS symptoms. Higher proportion of respondents with no change in IBS symptoms were willing to practice social distancing indefinitely versus those who deteriorated (74.9% vs 51.4%, P = 0.016). In multivariate analysis, willingness to continue social distancing for another 2-3 weeks (vs longer period) was significantly associated with higher odds of worsening IBS.

CONCLUSION: Our study showed that self-reported IBS respondents had worse well-being and compliance to social distancing measures than non-IBS respondents. Future research will focus on occupational stress and dietary changes during COVID-19 that may influence IBS.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

MeSH terms
Similar publications