Irritable bowel syndrome and dyspepsia in the general population: Overlap and lack of stability over time
Abstract
Background & aims It has been suggested that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia represent the same disease entity, the irritable gut. The aim of this study was to test the stability, consistency, and relevance of the current classification in the entire, unselected population of persons with gastrointestinal and/or abdominal symptoms, including those who had not consulted physicians. Methods Sequential postal questionnaires were sent to 1290 representative persons (age range, 20-79 years) sampled from the population. Questions were asked about the prevalence of 24 gastrointestinal and/or abdominal symptoms and the site and type of abdominal pain, if any. Results The prevalence of dyspepsia was 14% (32% if predominant reflux symptoms and concomitant IBS symptoms were included), and the prevalence of IBS was 12.5%. The 3-month incidence rates of reflux, dyspepsia, and IBS among previously symptomless persons were 0.5, 8, and 2 per 1000, respectively. Of persons with IBS, 87% also fulfilled the dyspepsia criteria, and the overlap between dyspepsia subgroups was more than 50%. The use of stricter criteria did not eliminate this overlap. Over a 1-year period, approximately 50% changed their symptom profile. Principal component analysis did not show any natural clustering of the symptoms. Conclusions The separation of functional gastrointestinal symptoms into dyspepsia, its subgroups, and IBS may be inappropriate.
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Long-term follow ups of patients with IBS and FD demonstrate that over time patients with IBS develop FD symptoms and vice versa.
“Furthermore long-term follow ups of patients with IBS and FD demonstrate that over time patients with IBS develop FD symptoms and vice versa.”
From Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Co-morbid Gastrointestinal and Extra-gastrointestinal Functional Syndromes (2010) · cites this paper as [14]
In a 1-year follow-up, 22% of patients with IBS changed their symptom profile from FD to IBS.
“In a 1-year follow-up, 22% of patients with IBS changed their symptom profile from FD to IBS.14”
From Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Co-morbid Gastrointestinal and Extra-gastrointestinal Functional Syndromes (2010) · cites this paper as [14]
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- Authors
- Agréus, L., Svärdsudd, K., Nyrén, O., & Tibblin, G.
- Affiliations
- Uppsala University (SE)
- ORCID
- Nyrén, Olof
- Venue
- Gastroenterology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1995-09
- Volume
- 109
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 671-680
- ISSN
- 0016-5085 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1998351388
- Cited by
- 686
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 26
- FWCI
- 23.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Gastroenterology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Keywords
- irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, disease classification, symptom overlap, symptom stability, prevalence, reflux symptoms, abdominal pain, functional gastrointestinal symptoms, incidence, general population
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Colonic Diseases, Functional, Dyspepsia, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Gastroesophageal Reflux, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Population Surveillance, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sweden, Time Factors, Reproducibility of Results, Incidence, Prevalence, Multivariate Analysis, Cluster Analysis, Chi-Square Distribution, Linear Models
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