Researchers say anxiety link to irritable bowel syndrome seen in DNA

According to researchers, genes may go some way towards explaining why the common but poorly understood condition is often linked to anxiety, and hope their discovery will stop IBS being incorrectly labelled as an emotional state or “all in the mind”.

The team studied over 50,000 people with the condition, comparing their DNA with that of healthy individuals.

IBS is believed to affect around 10 per cent of people and can cause distressing bloating, abdominal pain and bouts of diarrhoea, constipation or both.  With no defining test, diagnosis comes after ruling out other causes.

Professor Miles Parkes, consultant gastroenterologist at Addenbrookes Hospital who led the research, says he and his team have identified at least six distinct genetic differences that might explain the link between the gut and the mind.

The results showed that heritability of the condition is quite low; six genetic differences were more common in people with IBS than in controls; most of these have roles in the brain, and possibly the nerves which supply the gut, rather than the gut itself; and the same genetic make-up that puts people at increased risk of IBS also increases the risk for common anxiety and mood disorders such as depression, anxiety and neuroticism.

Professor Parkes said “Our study shows these conditions have shared genetic origins, with the affected genes possibly leading to physical changes in brain or nerve cells that in turn cause symptoms in the brain and symptoms in the gut.”

It is believed that the discovery may ultimately help with developing better tests and treatments for the condition.

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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