495 A Prospective Study of Gender and Quality of Life in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a highly prevalent functional bowel disorder characterized by abdominal pain and change in bowel habits. IBS represents a significant public health problem because of its substantial reduction of quality of life (QoL) and increased healthcare cost. There is a significant paucity of data regarding gender-based QoL measures. Therefore, we report here results of a prospective study on gender based QoL measures in outpatients with IBS conducted at a single tertiary care center. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled adult outpatients with IBS (N = 72) and non-IBS patients (N = 181) based on a validated Rome III criteria questionnaire. Electronic medical records were reviewed, and demographic data were collected. Validated IBS-specific QoL (IBSQoL 34-item instrument) and general QoL (Veterans RAND-12, VR-12) questionnaires were completed by the study sample. Statistical analyses of data were performed using Chi-square, Fisher's exact, and two-samples t-test. RESULTS: The proportion of female IBS patients (N=44; 61%) was not different (P = 0.35; Table 1) from female non-IBS patients (N = 99; 55%). Other demographics, including BMI, marital status, smoking and insurance status were also comparable between these 2 groups, but IBS patients were younger (45 vs 51 yrs; P = 0.01, Table 1). Female and male subgroup analysis within both the IBS and non-IBS samples showed all similar demographic characteristics (age, BMI, smoking, marital and insurance status; data not shown). QoL in IBS subjects was highly significantly reduced as compared with non-IBS subjects both using the VR-12 and the IBSQoL instruments (Tables 2 and 3 and data not shown). In IBS patients, QoL (by VR-12) was significantly lower in males (P = 0.02) as compared to females in MCS (P = 0.02), but not in PCS (P = 0.07; Table 2). Male IBS patients scored significantly lower in the IBSQoL instrument than females in 2 of 8 domains (dysphoria and interference) and in the overall score whereas no gender differences were noted within the non-IBS sample (Table 3). The greatest IBSQoL reduction occurred in the food avoidance domain without gender disparity. CONCLUSION: IBS patients suffer from substantial impairment of QoL. This gender-based study is the first to demonstrate lower QoL scores in male IBS patients as compared to females in specific domains of validated general QoL and IBS-specific QoL instruments. Gender disparities demonstrated in this study were not associated with differences in age, BMI, and other demographics.