title: Psychological comorbidity and complexity of gastrointestinal symptoms in clinically diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The prevalence of psychological disorders is high in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but their role in symptom reporting is uncertain. It is thus interesting whether the number of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) determines the load of psychological comorbidity. The Rome III criteria have not been used to evaluate such a relationship as yet. Moreover, not many studies have examined the sensitivity of the Rome III criteria in detecting IBS. Our aims were therefore: (i) to determine whether those IBS participants with more FGID had a tendency to greater psychological comorbidity than those with fewer FGID; and (ii) to assess the performance of the Rome III criteria in detecting IBS versus the diagnosis of the gastroenterologist.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey of 32 consecutive outpatients with clinically diagnosed IBS was performed. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Short Form 12 Health Survey (SF-12), and the Rome III criteria questionnaire (BDQ-6) were administered. Multiple linear regression was conducted to detect associations among FGID, anxiety, depression and quality of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 50% of participants were anxious and 12% were depressed. Forty-four percent of participants had >two FGID; however, the number of FGID did not correlate with scores for anxiety, depression or quality of life. Amazingly, only 50% (CI: 33-67) of participants clinically diagnosed with IBS met Rome III criteria for IBS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contrary to our expectations, a greater load of FGID did not correlate with a greater load of psychological comorbidity. Surprisingly, the Rome III criteria detected only 50% of clinical cases of IBS.
authors: Discipline of General Practice and School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. antonina.mikockawalus@adelaide.edu.au
authors: Antonina
authors: A
authors: Mikocka-Walus
authors: Deborah
authors: D
authors: Turnbull
authors: Nicole
authors: N
authors: Moulding
authors: Ian
authors: I
authors: Wilson
authors: Jane M
authors: JM
authors: Andrews
authors: Gerald
authors: G
authors: Holtmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires