PP075-MON DIFFERENCES IN SYMPTOM SEVERITY, QUALITY OF LIFE AND BOWEL HABITS BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE IBS PATIENTS

Abstract

Rationale: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is thought to be more prevalent in women than in men. We investigated the relationship between gender and symptomatology and quality of life (QoL) in patients with IBS. Methods: 174 patients who fulfilled the Rome III criteria for IBS were included. Symptom severity was scored using the IBS Symptom Severity Score (IBS-SSS). The IBS-QoL was used to assess quality of life. Stool frequency and stool consistency were determined using the Bristol stool scale. Results: Patient’s age ranged from 19 to 66 years (mean 37.4) and the male to female ratio was 1:2.6. According to the Rome-III-criteria, 31% were diagnosed as diarrheapredominant IBS (IBS-D), 12.6% as constipation-predominant (IBS-C) and 1.1% as unsubtyped (IBS-U). The most common subtype was the mixed-type (IBS-M) with 55.2%. The gender composition between the four subtypes differed significantly (p < 0.05). 16.7% of the women were classified as constipationpredominant IBS, whereas only one man had IBS-C. The severity of IBS (scored with the IBS-SSS questionnaire) did not differ between men and women. The number of days with pain was significantly higher in women than in men (p < 0.05). The overall score of the IBS-QoL as well as 7 of the 8 subscales were significantly lower in women than in men (p < 0.05), only the subscale ‘interference with activity’ showed no gender differences. Stool frequency differed significantly between men and women (p < 0.001). Men reported a stool frequency of 11.8 times a week (SD: 9.5), women 7.8 (SD: 4.9). Conclusion: There are significant gender differences in patients with IBS regarding the symptoms (e.g. IBS-C occurred almost exclusively in females) as well as in QoL. Our data showed that although women did not report higher severity of IBS, their QoL was significantly worse than the QoL of male IBS patients.