Clinical Manifestations of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Iranian Men and Women: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Background: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal disorders which includes the majority section of general practitioners or gastroenterologists visits. The type or prevalence of clinical signs and symptoms of the syndrome may be different among males and females. we decided to assess and compare the frequency of different signs and symptoms of IBS in men and women.

Materials and Methods: It is a cross sectional study which was performed in a private gastroenterology clinic in Tehran. 76 males and 116 females who suffered from Irritable Bowel Syndrome were selected, and the clinical signs and symptoms were compared. Finally, the data were analyzed using Chi-Square test.

Results: Among the gastrointestinal signs, abdominal pain, nausea, belching, and bitter taste with women/men ratio equal to 1.2, 2, 1.7, and 1.4 respectively (p‹.05) were more prevalent in females, while flatulence and mucus discharge were observed in males more than females (men/female ratio 1.3, 1.6 respectively) (p‹.05). Extragastrointestinal manifestations such as palpitation, anxiety, and depression were more common in females (women/men ration 1.7, 1.3, and 1.7 respectively). The sensitivity of ROME II criteria in males and females was 96.3% and 92% respectively, while the sensitivity of Manning criteria was 93.4% in men and 80.2% in women.

Conclusions: Clinical manifestations of Irritable Bowel Syndrome are different between males and females. It seems that Manning criteria is more diagnostic in men suffering IBS.