Daily gastrointestinal symptoms in women with and without a diagnosis of IBS

This study compared daily gastrointestinal symptoms and stool characteristics across two menstrual cycles, and recalled bowel symptoms and psychological distress in women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS, N = 22), IBS nonpatients (IBS-NP, N = 22), and controls (N = 25). Daily reports of abdominal pain, bloating, intestinal gas, constipation, and diarrhea did not differ significantly between the IBS and IBS-NP groups but both groups reported significantly higher symptoms than the control group. Stool consistencies was significantly looser in the IBS group relative to the control group. Menstrual cycle effects on symptoms were noted in all the groups. There were no significant differences in psychological distress between women with IBS and IBS-NP, but both groups reported significantly higher global distress than the control group. The lack of difference between the IBS and IBS-NP groups in contrast to the results of others, can be understood in terms of differences in recruitment strategies.