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Multicenter Study
. 2021 Jun;56(6):537-546.
doi: 10.1007/s00535-021-01775-2. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

Gender difference in the overlap of irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia: a prospective nationwide multicenter study in Korea

Kwangwoo Nam  1 , Nayoung Kim  2   3 , Hyun Joo Song  4 , Gwang Ho Baik  5 , Suck Chei Choi  6 , Hyun Jin Kim  7 , Ju Yup Lee  8 , Kyung Sik Park  8 , Sun-Young Park  9 , Seun Ja Park  10
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Gender difference in the overlap of irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia: a prospective nationwide multicenter study in Korea

Kwangwoo Nam et al. J Gastroenterol. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Background: The overlap between functional dyspepsia (FD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is associated with more severe gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and lower quality of life. However, the gender differences in FD-IBS overlap remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the gender differences in patients with FD-IBS overlap.

Methods: Controls and cases were prospectively enrolled from July 2019 to June 2020 at nine tertiary referral centers. The patients underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy, and their symptoms were evaluated using a questionnaire including GI symptom-related items and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS). FD and IBS were diagnosed according to the Rome IV criteria, and the clinical characteristics of the FD-IBS overlap group were compared with those of the FD-only or IBS-only group.

Results: Among 667 subjects (334 healthy controls, 168 with FD-only, 37 with IBS-only, 128 with FD-IBS overlap), the FD-IBS overlap group (19.2%) showed a higher rate of preference for dairy products, a higher rate of history of Helicobacter pylori eradication, and higher HADS scores than the non-overlap group (P < 0.05). In the FD-IBS overlap group, men complained of reflux symptom and loose/watery stools more than women (P < 0.05), whereas women showed more severe GI symptoms, especially epigastric pain/burning symptoms, and higher depression scores than men (all P < 0.05).

Conclusions: FD-IBS overlap patients are associated with severe upper GI symptoms and depression compared to non-overlap patients. Moreover, women with FD-IBS overlap experience more severe GI and depression symptoms than men.

Keywords: Dyspepsia; Functional gastrointestinal disorders; Gender; Irritable bowel syndrome; Overlap.

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