OBJECTIVES : Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastro-intestinal disorder characterized by pain, one of the most common symptoms of IBS. Pain is noted to be among the most bothersome symptoms, leading patients to seek medical care. Apart from pain, IBS is also known to be associated with mental health disorders. The objective of the present study was to examine IBS sub-types, comorbid mental health disorders, and patient-reported pain scores within an IBS patient cohort.

METHODS : Adult patients (≥18 years) with an ICD-9/10 diagnosis for IBS, from 2012-2016, were retrospectively analyzed from a U.S. electronic health record dataset (Cerner Health Facts®). Medication prescriptions were used to classify patients into the three main IBS subtypes related to bowel habit abnormalities, constipation (IBS-C), diarrhea (IBS-D), and mixed bowel habits (IBS-M). ICD-9 codes were used to identify mental health comorbidities. First patient visit with a patient-reported pain score was assessed to define pain severity (mild, moderate, or severe based on a Numeric Pain Scale 0-10).

RESULTS : The study included 57,600 IBS patients (81.9% female), with 52.6% presenting with IBS-D, 42.6% with IBS-M, and 4.8% with IBS-C. About half of the patients were in the ‘36-65 years’ age group (50.6%). The vast majority of IBS patients were of Caucasian race (88.6%). In patients with a mental health comorbidity (67.3%), anxiety and depression were the most common (54.0%). Pain scores were available in 34.72% (N=20,000) of patients. More than half of the patients in the IBS cohort reported either moderate or severe pain (57.1%), with 26.1% suffering from severe pain overall.

CONCLUSIONS : This retrospective analysis highlights types of IBS and provides evidence of prevalence of mental health conditions, that can pose as a risk factor and/or complication. Additional analyses can be performed to better understand the complexity of IBS using real-world data, especially patient-reported pain scores.