Table 1.
Baseline characteristics IBS patients versus HC Differences tested with independent samples t-test and Pearson Chi2 as appropriate; *P < .05; **P < .01; ***P < .001 vs. HC. GI symptom diary, 14-day end-of-day diary on 1–5 Likert scale. GI Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), end-of-week questionnaire on 1–7 Likert scale. HADS, 0–21 scale. SF-36 quality of life score, 0–100 scale. Diarrhea (IBS-D) and constipation (IBS-C) predominant subtype, mixed (IBS-M) and undefined (IBS-U) subtype. Hospital care patients are both from secondary and tertiary referral centers
| Parameter |
IBS (N = 181) |
HC (N = 133) |
|---|---|---|
| Demographics and Lifestyle | ||
| Age (mean years ± SD) | 44.7 ± 16.9 | 45.8 ± 18.9 |
| Female sex (%) | 69.6* | 58.6 |
| BMI (mean kg/m2 ± SD) | 25.0 ± 4.5 | 24.1 ± 3.9 |
| Age at onset IBS (mean years ± SD) | 31.6 ± 17.1 | - |
| Duration of IBS symptoms (mean years ± SD) | 12.5 ± 10.6 | - |
| IBS subtype: IBS-D/IBS-C/IBS-M/IBS-U (n) | 64/34/73/10 | - |
| Acute onset of IBS, self-reported (%) | 63.5 | - |
| Post-infectious IBS, self-reported (%) | 24.9 | - |
| Current or previous smoker (%) | 52.6*** | 39.7 |
| Alcohol abstainers: 0 units/week (%) | 40.7*** | 18.2 |
| Moderate alcohol use: 1–15 units/week (%) | 40.1** | 47.0 |
| Recruited via primary/hospital care (%) | 17.7/82.3 | - |
| GI symptoms assessed by end-of-day diary, 14-day mean ± SD | ||
| Abdominal pain | 2.3 ± 0.9*** | 1.1 ± 0.1 |
| Abdominal discomfort | 2.4 ± 0.8*** | 1.1 ± 0.2 |
| Bloating | 2.2 ± 1.0*** | 1.1 ± 0.2 |
| Belching | 1.7 ± 0.8*** | 1.1 ± 0.3 |
| Nausea | 1.6 ± 0.7*** | 1.0 ± 0.1 |
| Flatulence | 2.4 ± 0.9*** | 1.3 ± 0.5 |
| Constipation | 1.5 ± 0.7*** | 1.1 ± 0.2 |
| Diarrhea | 1.5 ± 0.6*** | 1.0 ± 0.1 |
| Overall symptom burden | 2.5 ± 0.8*** | 1.1 ± 0.2 |
| GSRS, mean ± SD | ||
| Abdominal pain syndrome | 3.2 ± 1.2*** | 1.6 ± 0.7 |
| Reflux syndrome | 2.0 ± 1.4*** | 1.2 ± 0.5 |
| Diarrhea syndrome | 3.5 ± 1.5*** | 1.4 ± 0.7 |
| Constipation syndrome | 3.2 ± 1.4*** | 1.7 ± 0.9 |
| Indigestion syndrome | 4.0 ± 1.3*** | 2.0 ± 0.9 |
| Total GSRS score | 15.6 ± 4.1*** | 8.0 ± 2.6 |
| Psychological factors and Quality of Life | ||
| Onset of IBS after stressful event (%) | 37.6 | - |
| GI symptoms triggered by stress (%) | 65.7 | - |
| HADS anxiety score (mean ± SD) | 6.9 ± 4.0*** | 3.7 ± 3.0 |
| HADS depression score (mean ± SD) | 4.4 ± 3.7*** | 2.2 ± 2.9 |
| SF-36 physical QoL score (mean ± SD) | 41.0 ± 10.3*** | 54.1 ± 5.7 |
| SF-36 mental QoL score (mean ± SD) | 47.4 ± 10.8*** | 53.7 ± 8.4 |