The impact of Irritable Bowel Syndrome on health-related quality of life: a Singapore perspective

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder. The prevalence of IBS in Asian countries varies from 2.9% to 15.6%. IBS does not result in increased mortality, but is associated with psychological distress and disruption of work and sleep. Consequently, the evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important outcome measure for patients with IBS since it provides a holistic assessment of the patient's emotional, social and physical function. However, some HRQoL tools can be time-consuming to apply. EQ-5D is a brief HRQoL tool which has been validated in the Western IBS population but has thus far not been used in Asia. This study was conducted to determine whether persons with self-reported symptoms that met the Rome III criteria for IBS had a poorer quality of life than those without these symptoms. We also aimed to determine which specific aspects of quality of life were most affected and whether any risk factors distinguished those with and without IBS.