Abstract
Introduction: The epidemiology of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome has been well described in adult populations. However, the natural history of IBS, and the relationship of IBS to gastrointes- tinal (GI) complaints in childhood are poorly understood. We aimed to describe the history of GI symptoms over the first 21 years of life, among a general population sample, with Manning Criteria IBS. Comparisons are made with non-IBS controls.
Method: The data were collected from a 1972 birth cohort (Dunedin, NZ) who were followed at ages 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21 and 26 years. IBS was classified according to Manning Criteria, as assessed using symptom data collected at age 26 years. At each earlier stage of assessment, a GI symptom history was compiled by scrutinizing measures relating to medical service use and to self- and/or parental report of stomach and bowel complaints. The relationship between 18S at age 26 years and history of gastrointestinal complaints was investigated in two ways: comparisons between those with and those without IBS were made for GI symptoms at each of the 9 assessment phases; then, variables were created to reflect the cumulative history of GI symptoms to each time point (e.g. symptoms up to age 5 years, up to age 7 years, to age 9 years, etc).
Results: N = 151 subjects (16.8%) met the Manning criteria for a diagnosis of 18S at age 26 years. This was significantly related to GI symptoms reported at age 21 years (p = 0.001) and at age 9 years (p = 0.02). Those with IBS were significantly more likely to report GI symptoms at both time points, although the absolute differences between the IBS and non-IBS groups were small (IBS vs non-IBS: 19.9% vs 10.4% at age 21 years; and 15.2% vs 8.9% at 9 years). IBS at age 26 years was not related to symptoms at any of the remaining time points, and was not related to any of the measures of cumulative symptom history.
Conclusions: A diagnosis of IBS at age 26 years is not strongly related to a history of gastrointestinal complaints through childhood or adolescence.