title: Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Bronchial Asthma: Are They Associated in Indian Population?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a common gastrointestinal (GI) disorder has been linked with asthma implying a clue to its pathophysiology as being some form of allergic response. Previous studies from other parts of the world have shown both the presence as well as an absence of an association between them.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We conducted a cross-sectional study to find an association between IBS and asthma, in an Indian cohort.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy patients of IBS diagnosed by exclusion and ROME III criteria with a matched control group were questioned for GI, respiratory symptoms along with their spirometry analysis. Those having reversible bronchoconstriction were categorized as asthmatic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of asthma in the IBS group of 16 females and 54 males was 12 (17.14%) as compared to 14 (20%) in control group. Chi-square test revealed the Odds Ratio (OR) for prevalence of asthma in IBS as 0.828 with 95% Confidence Interval (CI) between 0.320 and 2.121 (p=0.664) which was non-significant (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study denies the presence of association between IBS and asthma among Indian cohorts and suggests that regional variations are present in the above association.
authors.affiliation: Resident, Department of Internal Medicine, Allegheny Health Network Medical Education Consortium , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA .
authors.forename: Salahuddin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, MLN Medical College , Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India .
authors.forename: Sri Prakash
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Misra
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, MLN Medical College , Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India .
authors.forename: Manisha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dwivedi
authors.affiliation: Senior Resident, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, MLN Medical College , Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India .
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pant
keywords: Association; Bronchial hyper-responsiveness; Functional bowel disorders; Pulmonary function tests; Respiratory symptoms