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Patients with fibromyalgia have higher risk for IBS
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The risk for developing irritable bowel syndrome was 1.54-times higher in patients with fibromyalgia, according to recently published data.
Researchers identified 33,729 patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and 134,915 patients without FM from Taiwan's national health insurance system between 2000 and 2011 based on ICD-9 codes. Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) at baseline were excluded. Every patient with FM was randomly frequency-matched to four patients without FM by age and sex.
The incidence of IBS in the patients without FM was 4.23 in men and 4.57 in women per 1,000 person-years. In the cohort of patients with FM, the incidence was 7.61 in men and 7.36 in women per 1,000 person-years, according to the researchers.
The unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) for IBS was 1.69 in the patients with FM and 1.54 after adjusting for age, sex and comorbidities. In men with FM, the HR was 1.49, and in women with FM, the HR was 1.6 after adjustment.
The risk of developing IBS increased with age, according to the researchers, with the highest HR of 1.76 seen in patients with FM who were 34 years old or younger. Patients with FM between the ages of 35 and 49 and between the ages 50 and 64 years had a HR of 1.6. After age 65, the HR decreased to 1.33.
Patients who received antidepressants to treat FM were at the highest risk for developing IBS (HR 2.53; 1.99 after adjustment), according to the researchers. The risk for patients who received no treatment for FM was HR 1.97 and 1.84 after adjustment. Patients who received tramadol were 0.47-fold likely to develop IBS with an adjusted risk of 0.34. - by Shirley Pulawski
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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