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A year in out-patients with the irritable bowel syndrome

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Summary

SYMPTOMS from, the irritable bowel syndrome were by far the commonest cause for referral to the gastrcenterology clinic. The condition was virtually twice as common in females and most often presented in either the third or fourth decades. One-third of the patients had symptoms before 15 years of age. The pulse and blood pressure were essentially normal. Over half the patients asked had a cancerophobia, two-thirds had urinary symptoms and nine out of ten had gynaecological symptoms. Brisk knee jerks were found in a highly significantly greater proportion of patients than in controls. The findings support the view that the gastrointestinal manifestations of this condition are part of an overall response by the patient; in three quarters of the patients that response was obviously triggered by a stressful sifuation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine and Gastroenterology, The Charitable Infirmary, Jervis Street, Dublin 1

    J. F. Fielding

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  1. J. F. Fielding
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Fielding, J.F. A year in out-patients with the irritable bowel syndrome. Ir J Med Sci 146, 162–166 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03030953

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