Willingness to accept risk with medication in return for cure of symptoms among patients with Rome IV irritable bowel syndrome

Summary Background Some drugs for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have serious side effects. Aims To examine the willingness of individuals with IBS to accept risks with medication in return for symptom cure. Methods We collected demographic, gastrointestinal symptoms, psychological health, quality of life and impact on work and daily activities data from 752 adults with Rome IV‐defined IBS. We examined median willingness to accept death in return for cure with a hypothetical medication using a standard gamble, according to these variables. Results Participants would accept a median 2.0% (IQR 0.0%‐9.0%) risk of death in return for a 98.0% (IQR 91.0%‐100.0%) chance of permanent symptom cure. The median accepted risk of death was higher in men (5.0% vs 2.0%, P