Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on irritable bowel syndrome
Sabrina Xin Zi Quek
Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Sabrina Xin Zi Quek and Evelyn Xiu Ling Loo shared co-first authorship.
Search for more papers by this authorEvelyn Xiu Ling Loo
Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
Sabrina Xin Zi Quek and Evelyn Xiu Ling Loo shared co-first authorship.
Search for more papers by this authorAlla Demutska
Department of Clinical Psychology, James Cook University, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorChun En Chua
Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorGuan Sen Kew
Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorScott Wong
Department of Medicine, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorHui Xing Lau
Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorEn Xian Sarah Low
Department of Medicine, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorTze Liang Loh
Department of Otorhinolarygology, Head and Neck Surgery, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan, Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorOoi Shien Lung
Department of Anaesthesiology, Columbia Asia Hospital, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorM. Masudur Rahman
Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Russel National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Search for more papers by this authorUday C Ghoshal
Department of Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute Medical Science, Lucknow, India
Search for more papers by this authorSunny H Wong
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
Search for more papers by this authorCynthia K Y Cheung
State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Search for more papers by this authorAri F Syam
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia/Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
Search for more papers by this authorNiandi Tan
Departments of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorYinglian Xiao
Departments of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorJin-Song Liu
Department of Gastroenterology, Wuhan Union Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
Search for more papers by this authorFang Lu
Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorChien-Lin Chen
Department of Medicine, Buddhist Tzu Chi Hospital and University School of Medicine, Hualien, Taiwan
Search for more papers by this authorYeong Yeh Lee
St George and Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Gut Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorYong-Sung Kim
Wonkwang Digestive Disease Research Institute, Gut and Food Healthcare, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan, South Korea
Search for more papers by this authorTadayuki Oshima
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorHiroto Miwa
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorJunxiong Pang
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore
Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Junxiong Pang and Kewin Tien Ho Siah should be considered co-senior authors.
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Kewin Tien Ho Siah
Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Junxiong Pang and Kewin Tien Ho Siah should be considered co-senior authors.
Correspondence
Professor Kewin Tien Ho Siah, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, National University Health System, 1E Kent Ridge Road, Level 10, Singapore 119228.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorSabrina Xin Zi Quek
Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Sabrina Xin Zi Quek and Evelyn Xiu Ling Loo shared co-first authorship.
Search for more papers by this authorEvelyn Xiu Ling Loo
Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
Sabrina Xin Zi Quek and Evelyn Xiu Ling Loo shared co-first authorship.
Search for more papers by this authorAlla Demutska
Department of Clinical Psychology, James Cook University, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorChun En Chua
Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorGuan Sen Kew
Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorScott Wong
Department of Medicine, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorHui Xing Lau
Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorEn Xian Sarah Low
Department of Medicine, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorTze Liang Loh
Department of Otorhinolarygology, Head and Neck Surgery, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Seri Kembangan, Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorOoi Shien Lung
Department of Anaesthesiology, Columbia Asia Hospital, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorM. Masudur Rahman
Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Russel National Gastroliver Institute and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Search for more papers by this authorUday C Ghoshal
Department of Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute Medical Science, Lucknow, India
Search for more papers by this authorSunny H Wong
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
Search for more papers by this authorCynthia K Y Cheung
State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Search for more papers by this authorAri F Syam
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia/Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
Search for more papers by this authorNiandi Tan
Departments of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorYinglian Xiao
Departments of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorJin-Song Liu
Department of Gastroenterology, Wuhan Union Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
Search for more papers by this authorFang Lu
Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorChien-Lin Chen
Department of Medicine, Buddhist Tzu Chi Hospital and University School of Medicine, Hualien, Taiwan
Search for more papers by this authorYeong Yeh Lee
St George and Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Gut Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Search for more papers by this authorYong-Sung Kim
Wonkwang Digestive Disease Research Institute, Gut and Food Healthcare, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan, South Korea
Search for more papers by this authorTadayuki Oshima
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorHiroto Miwa
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorJunxiong Pang
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore
Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Junxiong Pang and Kewin Tien Ho Siah should be considered co-senior authors.
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Kewin Tien Ho Siah
Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore
Junxiong Pang and Kewin Tien Ho Siah should be considered co-senior authors.
Correspondence
Professor Kewin Tien Ho Siah, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, National University Health System, 1E Kent Ridge Road, Level 10, Singapore 119228.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorDeclaration of conflict of interest: None of the authors has a conflict of interest related to this paper.
Author contribution: J. P. and K. T. H. S. contributed in the conception or design of the work; S. Q. X. Z., E. X. L. L., A. D., C. E. C., G. S. K., and S. W. in the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; S. Q. X. Z. and E. X. L. L. (the rest of co-authors) in drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; Y.-S. K., T. O., and H. M. in the review of contents; and J. P., K. T. H. S., S. Q. X. Z., and E. X. L. L. in the revision and final approval of the version to be published.
Financial support: This project was funded by the National University of Singapore (NUS) IPUR research grant (IPUR_FY2020_RES_02_PANG) and NUS COVID-19 Seed Research Grant (NUSCOVID19RG-43).
Abstract
Background and Aim
Gastrointestinal manifestations of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may mimic irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and social distancing measures may affect IBS patients negatively. We aimed to study the impact of COVID-19 on respondents with self-reported IBS.
Methods
We conducted an anonymized survey from May to June 2020 in 33 countries. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on personal hygiene and social distancing as well as psychological impact of COVID-19 were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed to determine differences in well-being and compliance to social distancing measures between respondents with and without self-reported IBS. Factors associated with improvement or worsening of IBS symptoms were evaluated.
Results
Out of 2704 respondents, 2024 (74.9%) did not have IBS, 305 (11.3%) had self-reported IBS, and 374 (13.8%) did not know what IBS was. Self-reported IBS respondents reported significantly worse emotional, social, and psychological well-being compared with non-IBS respondents and were less compliant to social distancing measures (28.2% vs 35.3%, P = 0.029); 61.6% reported no change, 26.6% reported improvement, and 11.8% reported worsening IBS symptoms. Higher proportion of respondents with no change in IBS symptoms were willing to practice social distancing indefinitely versus those who deteriorated (74.9% vs 51.4%, P = 0.016). In multivariate analysis, willingness to continue social distancing for another 2–3 weeks (vs longer period) was significantly associated with higher odds of worsening IBS.
Conclusion
Our study showed that self-reported IBS respondents had worse well-being and compliance to social distancing measures than non-IBS respondents. Future research will focus on occupational stress and dietary changes during COVID-19 that may influence IBS.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| jgh15466-sup-0001-Tables S1.docxWord 2007 document , 32.3 KB |
Table S1. Number of responses from each country surveyed. Table S2. Comparison of demographic variables between subjects who reported improvement and no change in severity of IBS. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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