Irritable bowel syndrome in patients with dyspepsia: a community-based study in southern Europe

Objectives Dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) share aetiopathogen ic factors, and may therefore be part of a single disorder, This study was intended to determine their prevalence in the general population, and the d egree of overlap between these two digestive disorders. Design Descriptive study. Methods A sample of 264 subjects chosen randomly from the population census of a city in Spain, and considered representative of the general populatio n in this city, was surveyed by questionnaire. Results The prevalence of dyspepsia was 23.9%, and that of IBS was 13.6%, O f the subjects with dyspepsia, 31.6% had IBS, and of the subjects with IBS, 55.6% reported symptoms of dyspepsia, The prevalence of IBS was higher amo ng subjects with dyspepsia (31.7%) than among those who reported no symptom s of dyspepsia (7.9%; P < 0.05). Moreover, the prevalence of IBS was simila r in three subgroups identified according to the type of dyspepsia describe d (ulcer-like, reflux-like or dysmotility-like). When we compared subjects with both dyspepsia and IBS and those with dyspepsia alone, we found no sig nificant differences in clinical characteristics except for abdominal pain and fear of cancer, which were more frequent in the former. Of the entire s ample, 27.7% of the subjects sought medical attention for IBS and 17% misse d work because of IBS. Conclusion Our findings suggest that functional dyspepsia and IBS are two m anifestations of a single, more extensive digestive system disorder. fur I Gastroenterol Hepatol 11:517-522 (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.