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Psychosocial factors at work and in every day life are associated with irritable bowel syndrome

  • Gastro-intestinal disease
  • Published:
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Abstract

The etiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) tends to be complex and multi-factorial and there is still a lack of understanding of how different psychosocial factors are associated with the syndrome. Our aim was to examine the occurrence of psychosocial and behavioural factors among patients diagnosed with IBS in primary care. The study had an epidemiological population-based case–control design comparing 347 IBS cases to 1041 age and sex matched controls from the general population. A survey was directed to cases and controls based on validated questions asking for mood status, job strain, family history of IBS, and sleeping habits as well as education, nutritional and exercise habits and medication. In multivariate analyses, independent associations were found between IBS and lack of influence on work planning, a family history of IBS, anxiety, and sleeping disturbances. Important factors associated with IBS diagnosis among females were anxiety as well as family history of IBS and lack of co-determination at work. For males, only lack of influence on working pace and family history of IBS remained independently associated with an IBS diagnosis. The causal associations of the complex risk factor panorama for IBS warrants further study. This study indicates that there should be a special focus on investigating the psychosocial working conditions and their associations to IBS.

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Abbreviations

ASA:

Acetylsalicylic acid

FGI:

Functional gastrointestinal disorders

GP:

General practitioner

HAD:

The hospital anxiety and depression questionnaire

IBS:

Irritable bowel syndrome

ICD:

International classifications of diseases

LIPS:

The Linköping IBS Population Study

NSAID:

Non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs

PHC:

Primary health care

SPSS:

Statistical package for the social sciences

Vs:

Versus

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Acknowledgements

This study is part of the LIPS (Linköping IBS Population Study) aiming to examine the health burden of IBS patients in primary care. We would like to express our gratitude to all the people who helped with the postal questionnaire. This study was partly supported by a grant from AstraZeneca R&D, Mölndal, Sweden

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Medicine and Public Health Science, Linköping University, Linkoping, 581 83, Sweden

    Åshild Faresjö & Toomas Timpka

  2. Unit for Research and Development in Local Health Care, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden

    Ewa Grodzinsky

  3. Cardiovascular Institute, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Saga Johansson

  4. Department of Epidemiology, AstraZeneca R&D, Molndal, Sweden

    Saga Johansson & Mari-Ann Wallander

  5. Department of Public Health and Caring Science, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Mari-Ann Wallander

  6. Department of Caring and Public Health Sciences, Mälardalen University, Vasteras, Sweden

    Ingemar Åkerlind

Authors
  1. Åshild Faresjö
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  2. Ewa Grodzinsky
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  3. Saga Johansson
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  4. Mari-Ann Wallander
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  5. Toomas Timpka
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  6. Ingemar Åkerlind
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Correspondence to Åshild Faresjö.

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Faresjö, Å., Grodzinsky, E., Johansson, S. et al. Psychosocial factors at work and in every day life are associated with irritable bowel syndrome. Eur J Epidemiol 22, 473–480 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-007-9133-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-007-9133-2

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