Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Oct 18;13(10):e0205806.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205806. eCollection 2018.

Physical activity in relation to irritable bowel syndrome among Iranian adults

Mehdi Sadeghian  1   2 , Omid Sadeghi  3   4 , Ammar Hassanzadeh Keshteli  5 , Hamed Daghaghzadeh  6 , Ahmad Esmaillzadeh  2   4   7 , Peyman Adibi  6
Affiliations

Physical activity in relation to irritable bowel syndrome among Iranian adults

Mehdi Sadeghian et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder worldwide. Physical activity in relation to IBS has been investigated in few studies and data in this regard are conflicting.

Aim: To investigate the association between physical activity and IBS in a large sample of Iranian adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 4763 Iranian adults in the framework of SEPAHAN (The Study on the Epidemiology of Psycho-Alimentary Health and Nutrition) project. The physical activity of study participants was assessed using the General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ). Using a validated self-administered modified Rome III questionnaire, functional gastrointestinal disorders including irritable bowel syndrome was assessed.

Results: The mean age of study participants was 36.5 years. Irritable bowel syndrome was prevalent among 21.5% of participants. Compared with physically active individuals (≥ 1 hour/wk), those with sedentary physical activity (<1 hour/wk) had 1.27 times greater probability of suffering from IBS (OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.08-1.49). However, this association was attenuated after adjusting for age, sex, cigarette smoking and medical history of colitis and diabetes. When the analysis was additionally adjusted for diet-related practices and body mass index (BMI), a non-significant association was found between sedentary physical activity and IBS (OR: 1.18, 95% CI: 0.98-1.41). Gender-stratified analysis revealed similar findings in women either before (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.04-1.61) or after controlling for covariates (OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 0.99-1.62). In BMI-stratified analysis, a significant positive association was seen between sedentary physical activity and IBS among individuals with normal BMI (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.07-1.79).

Conclusion: We found a significant positive association between sedentary physical activity and IBS, particularly among women and individuals of normal weight.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

References

    1. Drossman DA. The functional gastrointestinal disorders and the Rome III process. Gastroenterology. 2006;130(5):1377–90. Epub 2006/05/09. 10.1053/j.gastro.2006.03.008 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Son YJ, Jun EY, Park JH. Prevalence and risk factors of irritable bowel syndrome in Korean adolescent girls: a school-based study. Int J Nurs Stud. 2009;46(1):76–84. Epub 2008/08/30. 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2008.07.006 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cremonini F, Talley NJ. Irritable bowel syndrome: epidemiology, natural history, health care seeking and emerging risk factors. Gastroenterology clinics of North America. 2005;34(2):189–204. Epub 2005/05/03. 10.1016/j.gtc.2005.02.008 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chang FY, Lu CL. Irritable bowel syndrome in the 21st century: perspectives from Asia or South-east Asia. Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology. 2007;22(1):4–12. Epub 2007/01/05. 10.1111/j.1440-1746.2006.04672.x . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chirila I, Petrariu FD, Ciortescu I, Mihai C, Drug VL. Diet and irritable bowel syndrome. Journal of gastrointestinal and liver diseases: JGLD. 2012;21(4):357–62. Epub 2012/12/21. . - PubMed

Publication types