Is stress to blame for IBS?

Could stress be a key factor which means some people are more prone to Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

Medical adviser to the Gut Trust, Dr Nick Read believes it does.

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In an interview for New You he says, “attacks of IBS tend to be brought on by stressful circumstances.” These can include relatively minor incidences like your train being late.

 According to the consultant physician, some people develop symptoms of IBS after an attack of gastroenteritis. Once the bug which caused it disappears, the diarrhoea, abdominal pain and bloating remain. Tests and research looking into why this might be revealed some interesting results, “when people came in with gastroenteritis, we followed them up for 6 months, about 10-20% of them got irritable bowel syndrome.” Upon closer inspection, these were the people who had been depressed, stressed or anxious at the time that their gastroenteritis began.

Dr Read says that it’s really important for people suffering with IBS to consider stress as a possible factor and then look at ways they can reduce their stress.

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