THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DAILY-LIFE STRESS AND GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN WITH IRRITABLE-BOWEL-SYNDROME

Research on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a functional disorder of t he gastrointestinal (GI) system, has linked GI symptoms to stress. Thi s study examined the relationship between dairy stress and GI symptoms across women and within woman in IBS patients (n = 26), IBS nonpatien ts (IBS-NP n = 23), and controls (n = 26), controlling for menstrual c ycle phase. Women (ages 20-45) completed daily health diaries for two cycles in which they monitored daily GI symptoms and stress levels. Th e Life Event Survey (LES) was used as a retrospective measure of self- reported stress. The across-women analyses showed higher mean GI sympt oms and stress in the IBS and IBS-NP groups relative to controls but n o group differences in LES scores. The within-woman analyses found a s ignificant and positive relationship between daily stress and daily sy mptoms in both the IBS-NP and the IBS groups. Controlling for menstrua l cycle had no substantial impact on the results.