Citation

Walker EA, Gelfand AN, Gelfand MD, Katon WJ. Psychol. Med. 1995; 25(6): 1259-1267.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, Cambridge University Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8637955

Abstract

We compared 71 patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and 40 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using structured interviews for psychiatric, gastrointestinal and sexual/physical victimization histories, as well as self-reported measures of personality, functional disability and dissociation. IBS patients had significantly higher lifetime prevalence rates of major depression, current panic disorder, and childhood sexual abuse. Despite the absence of organic pathology, IBS patients had significantly higher numbers of medically unexplained physical symptoms and disability ratings equal to, or greater than, those of patients with severe organic gastrointestinal disease.

Language: en