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Short bowel syndrome, or SBS, is also sometimes called short gut. It refers to a collection of health issues faced by people who have problems absorbing nutrients from food. SBS usually occurs in people whose small intestines have been affected by injury, surgery, or other issues that reduce their function. SBS can affect people of all ages. The small intestine may be impaired by a birth defect, illness or injury later in life, or surgery required to treat another condition. The condition is relatively rare, affecting about three of every one million people. An estimated twenty thousand people in the United States are affected by SBS in any given year.