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
. 2024 Jun 15;95(12):1122-1132.
doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.12.024. Epub 2024 Jan 8.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Is Associated With Brain Health by Neuroimaging, Behavioral, Biochemical, and Genetic Analyses

Affiliations

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Is Associated With Brain Health by Neuroimaging, Behavioral, Biochemical, and Genetic Analyses

Zeyu Li et al. Biol Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) interacts with psychopathology in a complex way; however, little is known about the underlying brain, biochemical, and genetic mechanisms.

Methods: To clarify the phenotypic and genetic associations between IBS and brain health, we performed a comprehensive retrospective cohort study on a large population. Our study included 171,104 participants from the UK Biobank who underwent a thorough assessment of IBS, with the majority also providing neuroimaging, behavioral, biochemical, and genetic information. Multistage linked analyses were conducted, including phenome-wide association analysis, polygenic risk score calculation, and 2-sample Mendelian randomization analysis.

Results: The phenome-wide association analysis showed that IBS was linked to brain health problems, including anxiety and depression, and poor cognitive performance. Significantly lower brain volumes associated with more severe IBS were found in key areas related to emotional regulation and higher-order cognition, including the medial orbitofrontal cortex/ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior insula, anterior and mid-cingulate cortices, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus. Higher triglycerides, lower high-intensity lipoprotein, and lower platelets were also related (p < 1 × 10-10) to more severe IBS. Finally, Mendelian randomization analyses demonstrated potential causal relationships between IBS and brain health and indicated possible mediating effects of dyslipidemia and inflammation.

Conclusions: For the first time, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between IBS and brain health phenotypes, integrating perspectives from neuroimaging, behavioral performance, biochemical factors, and genetics, which is of great significance for clinical applications to potentially address brain health impairments in patients with IBS.

Keywords: Brain health; Depression; Irritable bowel syndrome; Mendelian randomization; Neuroimaging; UK Biobank.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources