What is the role of stress in IBS?
- More than half of IBS patients associate the onset of their IBS symptoms with a stressful life event such as a family death, a surgical procedure, unemployment, financial problems, or marital difficulties.
- Although most people have experienced the effect of anxiety and stress on their GI tract with urgency, cramps, constipation, or diarrhea, IBS patients appear to have an exaggerated GI response (i.e., increased rectosigmoid contractions) to stress.
