Three Subtypes of IBS are Characterised by Different Extra-intestinal Symptoms

Irritable bowel syndrome. Credit: Scientific Animations CC4.0

While irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is commonly associated with symptoms outside the intestine, it was not known whether these symptoms differed according to the subtypes of the condition. A new study published in Neurogastroenterology and Motility investigated the prevalence, and found that the IBS-M (mixed bowel habits) subtype had the highest prevalence of most extra-intestinal symptoms symptoms.

The researchers carried out a descriptive cross-sectional study patients with IBS according to Rome IV criteria. They were classified according to subtypes: IBS-D (diarrhoea-predominant), IBS-C (constipation-predominant), and IBS-M (mixed bowel habits). Of the 4862 patients included; there were 608 IBS-D (12.5%), 1978 IBS-C (40.7%), and 2276 IBS-M (46.8%).

Participants completed a patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score for depressive symptoms, with IBS-M the highest at 12.7 compared to 11.1 for IBS-D and 10.5 for IBS-C. They also completed an IBS-severity scoring system (IBS-SSS) questionnaire.

Overall, the study found the following results:

IBS-M:

  • Overweight
  • High IBS-SSS of 320
  • Depressive symptoms (80.0%)
  • Multiple extra-intestinal symptoms
  • Arthralgia (62.4%)
  • Chronic cervicalgia (81.0%)
  • Extremity numbness (64.5%)
  • Atopic dermatitis (28.2%)

IBS-C:

  • Lower body mass index
  • Low BS-SSS of 290

IBS-D:

  • Overweight (30.9%)
  • Higher food intolerance perception (9.5%)
  • History of cholecystectomy (17.8%)
  • Faecal incontinence (36.2%)

The authors concluded that, “The prevalence of most extra-intestinal symptoms is higher among patients with IBS-M. Further research is needed to better characterize IBS subtypes, which could potentially help refining tailored therapeutic strategies.”