Global prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome: time to consider factors beyond diagnostic criteria?

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional bowel disorder, characterised by abdominal pain, bloating, and alterations in bowel habit. 1 Lacy BE Mearin F Chang L et al. Bowel disorders. Gastroenterology. 2016; 150: 1393-1407 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (1535) Google Scholar IBS is associated with considerable stigmatisation 2 Hearn M Whorwell PJ Vasant DH Stigma and irritable bowel syndrome: a taboo subject?. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020; 5: 607-615 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (31) Google Scholar and substantial health-care costs. 3 Flacco ME Manzoli L De Giorgio R et al. Costs of irritable bowel syndrome in European countries with universal healthcare coverage: a meta-analysis. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2019; 23: 2986-3000 PubMed Google Scholar Previous estimates of its global prevalence have become outdated, not least due to changes in diagnostic criteria for IBS, and until recently the paucity of large, multinational studies on prevalence had been a limiting factor. Global prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome according to Rome III or IV criteria: a systematic review and meta-analysisEven when uniform symptom-based criteria are applied, based on identical methodology, to define the presence of IBS, prevalence varies substantially between countries. Prevalence was substantially lower with the Rome IV criteria, suggesting that these more restrictive criteria might be less suitable than Rome III for population-based epidemiological surveys. Full-Text PDF