title: High prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in medical outpatients in Japan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) among Japanese patients who visit hospitals departments of internal medicine is thought to be high. However, no clear statistical evidence has been provided to support such a claim. We tested the hypotheses that the prevalence of IBS in medical outpatients clinics in Japan is high, and that IBS patients feel more psychosocial stress than patients without IBS.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects in this study were 633 patients who visited participating physicians. Patients were asked to fill in the Japanese version of the Rome II Modular Questionnaire (RIIMQ) for IBS diagnosis, the Self-reported Irritable Bowel Syndrome Questionnaire (SIBSQ) for severity of the disease and the demographic questionnaire for perceived stress and life style.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Rome II-defined IBS was diagnosed in 196 patients (31%). Analysis of variance revealed significant difference in the IBS scores of SIBSQ among IBS subjects (39.0+/-11.1, mean+/-SD), functional bowel disorder subjects (27.1+/-10.2), and normal subjects (24.0+/-10.0, P<0.01). The prevalence of IBS depending on age formed 2 peaks, one among adolescents and the other among the elderly. IBS patients had significantly more perceived stress (P<0.0001), irregular sleep habit (P<0.0001), and irregular meal habit (P<0.0001) than those without IBS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of IBS among medical outpatients in Japan is high (31%). IBS subjects among medically ill patients are thought to have more perceived stress and less regular life styles.
authors.affiliation: Tohoku University, Aoba, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Masae
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shinozaki
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukudo
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hongo
authors.forename: Tooru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimosegawa
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsueda
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harasawa
authors.forename: Soichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mine
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arakawa
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haruma
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torii
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Azuma
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miwa
authors.forename: Mikihiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukunaga
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Handa
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kitamori
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miwa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires