Evaluation of Anxiety in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Aim/Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a frequently encountered health problem in gastroenterology and primary care practice. The pathophysiology of IBS is still not fully elucidated. Psychogenic factors may play a significant role in the emergence and progression of the disease. Anxiety, a widespread psychiatric sign with many physical symptoms is the most crucial factor in psychogenic factors of IBS. The aim of this study was to investigate anxiety symptoms in patients with IBS in daily gastroenterology practice. Method: In our study, 100 patients diagnosed with IBS between 16-75 years of age who admitted to our internal medicine and gastroenterology outpatient clinics between April 2015 and June 2015 and 70 healthy individuals between the ages of 16-75 in the control group were included. Patients were diagnosed according to Rome III criteria. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) I and II were used. STAI-I was used to measure instant moods and STAI-II was used to measure perpetual anxiety of the study groups. Results: As a result of our study, anxiety scores were found to be significantly higher in patients with IBS than in the controls. Conclusion: We believe that our study is capable of raising awareness on the evaluation of anxiety in patients with IBS. With this awareness, the evaluation of anxiety symptoms and also the diagnosis of possible anxiety disorders in IBS patients may come to mind earlier. Early recognition and treatment of anxiety symptoms possibly associated with IBS will contribute to IBS treatment in daily gastroenterology practice.  Amaç: İrritabl barsak sendromu (IBS) gastroenteroloji ve birinci basamak uygulamalarında sıkça karşılaşılan bir sağlık sorunudur. IBS patofizyolojisi hala tam olarak açıklığa kavuşturulmamıştır. Psikojenik faktörler, hastalığın ortaya çıkmasında ve ilerlemesinde önemli bir rol oynayabilir. Birçok fiziksel belirtiye sahip ve yaygın bir psikiyatrik bozukluk olan anksiyete, IBS'in gelişimde önemli faktördür. Bu çalışmanın amacı günlük pratikte gastroenteroloji polikliniklerinde IBS’ li hastalarda anksiyete semptomlarını araştırmaktır. Yöntem: Çalışmamızda Nisan 2015 - Haziran 2015 tarihleri arasında iç hastalıkları ve gastroenteroloji polikliniğimize başvuran 16-75 yaş arası IBS tanısı alan 100 hasta ile 16-75 yaş arası 70 sağlıklı birey vardı. Roma III kriterlerine göre hastalar teşhis edildi. Durum Sürekli Kaygı Envanteri (STAI) I ve II kullanıldı. Çalışma gruplarının anlık duygu durumları ölçmek için STAI-I, sürekli kaygılarını ölçmek için ise STAI-II kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Çalışmamız sonucunda IBS hastalarında kaygı puanları kontrol grubundan anlamlı derecede daha yüksek bulundu. Sonuç: Çalışmamızın IBS hastalarında anksiyete değerlendirmesi konusunda farkındalık yaratabildiğine inanıyoruz. Bu bilinçle, IBS hastalarında anksiyete belirtilerinin değerlendirilmesi ve olası anksiyete bozukluklarının tanısı daha erken akla gelebilir. Muhtemelen IBS ile ilişkili anksiyete belirtilerinin erken tanınması ve tedavisi günlük gastroenteroloji pratiğinde IBS tedavisine katkıda bulunacaktır.

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