Search

Background: An individual’s drive to seek medical help remains a complex behavioural process, incorporating psychological, social and symptom-specific factors. Within irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastrointestinal symptoms only predict a small portion of the high healthcare-seeking experienced. Aim: To examine the moderating role of quality of life (QoL) domains on this relationship to help explain the variance observed. Methods: This is an analysis of a Swedish population-based prospective study of healthcare use over a 12-year period. At baseline, gastrointestinal symptoms were measured with the valid Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, and QoL via the SF-36. 1159 subjects (57% female; mean age 48.6 years) had their health records matched with the initial survey. 164 were classified as IBS by Rome II criteria. Negative binomial or logistic models were fit to evaluate the moderating effect of particular QoL domains on the relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms and prospective healthcare utilisation. Results: Gastrointestinal symptoms were associated with prospective healthcare use, but moderation in this relationship by particular QoL domains was not supported; most models did not reach statistical significance. Furthermore, the impact of IBS status did not alter the moderation hypotheses. Conclusions: Particular QoL domains did not impact the relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms on prospective healthcare seeking. Future research should continue to examine other psychological, social and symptom variables to identify predictors of high healthcare consumers in IBS.

INTRODUCTION: We hypothesized that the prevalence of functional dyspepsia and gastroesophageal reflux disease in the community may be increasing. METHODS: Randomly selected adults were surveyed on 4 occasions: 1988 (n = 1,151, 21–79 years, response rate [rr] = 90%), 1989 (n = 1,097, 22–80 years, rr = 87%), 1995 (n = 1,139, 20–85 years, rr = 76%), and 2011 (n = 1,175, 20–93 years, rr = 63%). RESULTS: In functional dyspepsia, the odds of postprandial distress syndrome tripled over 23 years' follow-up (odds ratio [OR]: 3.55; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.60–4.84, mixed-effect regression analysis), whereas a small decrease in epigastric pain syndrome was observed (OR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.42–1.00). The odds of reporting gastroesophageal reflux disease doubled (OR: 2.02; 95% CI: 1.50–2.73). DISCUSSION: The underlying mechanisms behind the increase in postprandial distress syndrome and gastroesophageal reflux disease remain to be determined.

Background: It is uncertain if functional dyspepsia (FD) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are linked to smoking, and smoking cessation is not part of the routine advice provided to these patients. Aim: To assess if smoking is an independent risk factor for FD and IBS. Methods: Three population-based endoscopy studies in Sweden with 2560 community individuals in total (mean age 51.5 years, 46% male). IBS (14.9%), FD (33.5%), and associated symptoms were assessed using the validated abdominal symptom questionnaire, and smoking (17.9%) was obtained from standardised questions during a clinic visit. The effect of smoking on symptom status was analysed in an individual person data meta-analysis using mixed effect logistic regression, adjusted for snuffing, age and sex. Results: Individuals smoking cigarettes reported significantly higher odds of postprandial distress syndrome (FD-PDS) (OR 10-19 cig/day = 1.42, 95% CI 1.04-1.98 P = 0.027, OR >= 20 cig/day = 2.16, 95% CI 1.38-3.38, P = 0.001) but not epigastric pain. Individuals smoking 20 or more cigarettes per day reported significantly higher odds of IBS-diarrhoea (OR = 2.40, 95% CI 1.12-5.16, P = 0.025), diarrhoea (OR = 2.01, 95%CI 1.28-3.16, P = 0.003), urgency (OR = 2.21, 95%CI 1.41-3.47, P = 0.001) and flatus (OR = 1.77, 95%CI 1.14-2.76, P = 0.012) than non-smokers. Smoking was not associated with IBS-constipation or IBS-mixed. Conclusion: Smoking is an important environmental risk factor for postprandial distress syndrome, the most common FD subgroup, with over a twofold increased odds of PDS in heavy smokers. The role of smoking in IBS-diarrhoea, but not constipation, is also likely important.

Introduction: The concept of gut-to-brain communication via microbial or inflammatory pathways is gaining increased attention but genuine pathology directly linking gut perturbation to anxiety is lacking. We hypothesized that duodenal eosinophilia, as known to occur in functional dyspepsia (FD), may be an underlying cause of anxiety and may help explain the striking association between FD and anxiety. Methods: Randomly selected subjects from the national population register of Sweden completed the validated Abdominal Symptom Questionnaire; 1000 completed esophagogastroduodenoscopy and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaire. Duodenal biopsies were obtained from 1(st) (D1) and 2(nd) portion (D2). Eligible subjects who underwent endoscopy (n = 887) were invited to participate in a 10-year follow-up study with the same questionnaires. Among endoscopy normal subjects, FD was identified by Rome criteria, and controls were symptom free. Duodenal eosinophilia was based on pre-defined cut-offs. Finding are reported as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval and p-value. Results: The study population comprised 89 cases with FD and 124 healthy controls (mean age 62 years, SD 12, 34% male). Clinical anxiety at follow-up was elevated in those with D1 eosinophilia at baseline considering either new-onset anxiety (OR = 4.5, 95% CI 0.8, 23.8; p = 0.08) or follow-up anxiety adjusting for baseline anxiety (OR = 4.51 (95% CI 1.03, 19.81; p = 0.046). Conclusion: Duodenal eosinophilia may potentially be a mechanism linked to anxiety independent of FD.

Background: The Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale-Irritable Bowel Syndrome (GSRS-IBS) is a 13-item measure of IBS symptom severity. The scale has been used in several studies, but its psychometric properties have been insufficiently investigated and population-based data are not available. Objective: The objective of this article is to establish the factor structure and discriminant and convergent validity of the GSRS-IBS. Methods: The study was based on a Swedish population sample (the Popcol study), of which 1158 randomly selected participants provided data on the GSRS-IBS. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and compared total and subscales scores in different groups, including IBS diagnostic status, treatment-seeking behavior, and predominant bowel habits. The GSRS-IBS scores were also correlated with quality of life indexes. Results: The sample included 164 participants with a confirmed Rome III IBS diagnosis and 994 participants without the disease. The CFA confirmed the subscales with one exception, in which the incomplete bowel-emptying item belonged to the constipation subscale rather than the diarrhea subscale. The GSRS-IBS total score and subscales were associated with diagnostic status, treatment-seeking behavior, and quality of life dimensions. The relevant subscales scores also differed between the diarrhea- and constipation-predominant subtypes of IBS. Conclusion: The GSRS-IBS total score and subscales have high discriminant and convergent validity. The CFA confirmed the overall validity of the subscales but suggest that a sense of incomplete emptying belongs to the constipation rather than the diarrhea symptom cluster. We conclude that the GSRS-IBS is an excellent measure of IBS symptom severity in the general population.

Background: Chronic sickness behavior is implicated in ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and chronic pain but the level of subjective sickness behavior in these conditions has not been investigated or compared to other clinical and non-clinical samples, or to the level in experimental inflammation. Furthermore, the relationship between sickness behavior and self-rated health and functioning is not known in patients with ME/CFS and chronic pain. The aim of the present study was to investigate how sickness behavior in patients with chronic conditions differs from that in individuals with experimental acute sickness, primary care patients, the general population and healthy subjects. In addition, we wanted to explore how sickness behavior is related to self-rated health and health-related functioning. Methods: Sickness behavior was quantified using the sickness questionnaire (SicknessQ). Self-ratings were collected at one time-point in 6 different samples. Levels of sickness behavior in patients with ME/CFS (n ​= ​38) and patients with chronic pain (n ​= ​190) were compared to healthy subjects with lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced inflammation (n ​= ​29), primary care patients (n ​= ​163), individuals from the general population (n ​= ​155) and healthy subjects (n ​= ​48), using linear regression. Correlations and moderated regression analyses were used to investigate associations between sickness behavior and self-rated health and health-related functioning in ME/CFS, chronic pain and the general population. Results: LPS-injected individuals (M ​= ​16.3), patients with ME/CFS (M ​= ​16.1), chronic pain (M ​= ​16.1) and primary care patients (M ​= ​10.7) reported significantly higher SicknessQ scores than individuals from the general population (M ​= ​5.4) and healthy subjects (M ​= ​3.6) all p’s ​< ​0.001). In turn, LPS-injected individuals, patients with ME/CFS and chronic pain reported significantly higher SicknessQ scores than primary ca, The LPS-study was supported by grants from Osher Center for Integrative Medicine and Center for Allergy Research at Karolinska Institutet, the Swedish Society of Medicine, Hedlund Foundation, the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation, Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association, the Swedish Research Council, Stockholm Stress Center and the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research. The ME/CFS study was supported by the research fund (Risk Hälsa) at Skandia Insurance Company, Ltd, Sweden. BK is supported by the Swedish Research Council.

INTRODUCTION: Low-grade chronic inflammation has been suggested to play a role in uncomplicated asymptomatic and symptomatic diverticular disease. However, population-based studies are lacking. We investigated whether community participants with diverticulosis, with or without symptoms, would have colonic inflammation on histology and serology. METHODS: In a nested case-control study of 254 participants from the population-based colonoscopy (PopCol) study, colonic histological inflammatory markers and serological C-reactive protein levels were analyzed in cases with diverticulosis and controls without diverticulosis. Statistical methods included logistic and linear regression models. RESULTS: Background variables including age (P = 0.92), sex (P = 1.00), body mass index (P = 0.71), smoking (P = 0.34), and recent antibiotic exposure (P = 0.68) were similar between cases and controls. Cases reported more abdominal pain (P = 0.04) and diarrhea symptoms (mushy and high-frequency stools) than controls (P = 0.01 and P = 0.03, respectively) but were otherwise similar. The median C-reactive protein levels were similar among cases and controls [1.05 mg/L (0.3, 2.7) vs 0.8 (0.4, 2.2), P = 0.53]. There was a trend of increased numbers of cecal lymphoid aggregates in cases vs controls (P = 0.07), but no other associations between diverticulosis and inflammatory markers on histology were found. Similarly, no serological or mucosal inflammation was associated with symptomatic cases of diarrhea or abdominal pain vs asymptomatic controls. CONCLUSIONS: In a general community sample, both asymptomatic and symptomatic diverticulosis are not associated with colonic mucosal inflammation. Other explanations for symptomatic colonic diverticulosis need to be identified.

Colonic spirochetosis, diagnosed based on the striking appearance in histological sections, still has an obscure clinical relevance, and only a few bacterial isolates from this condition have been characterized to date. In a randomized, population-based study in Stockholm, Sweden, 745 healthy individuals underwent colonoscopy with biopsy sampling. Of these individuals, 17 (2.3%) had colonic spirochetosis, which was associated with eosinophilic infiltration and a 3-fold-increased risk for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We aimed to culture the bacteria and perform whole-genome sequencing of the isolates from this unique representative population sample. From 14 out of 17 individuals with spirochetosis we successfully isolated, cultured, and performed whole-genome sequencing of in total 17 isolates, including the Brachyspira aalborgi type strain, 513A. Also, 16S analysis of the mucosaassociated microbiota was performed in the cases and nonspirochetosis controls. We found one isolate to be of the species Brachyspira pilosicoli; all remaining isolates were of the species Brachyspira aalborgi. Besides displaying extensive genetic heterogeneity, the isolates harbored several mucin-degrading enzymes and other virulenceassociated genes that could confer a pathogenic potential in the human colon. We also showed that 16S amplicon sequencing using standard primers for human microbiota studies failed to detect Brachyspira due to primer incompatibility. IMPORTANCE This is the first report of whole-genome analysis of clinical isolates from individuals with colonic spirochetosis. This characterization provides new opportunities in understanding the physiology and potentials of these bacteria that densely colonize the gut in the individuals infected. The observation that standard 16S amplicon primers fail to detect colonic spirochetosis may have major implications for studies searching for associations between members of the microbiota and clinical conditions such as irritable bowe

Background: Epidemiological studies of microscopic colitis have shown varying but increasing incidence rates. Aim To assess the incidence of microscopic colitis in Sweden. Methods: Nationwide cohort study performed in 1995-2015 based on biopsy reports. Age-specific and age-standardised incidence rates were calculated. Results: We identified 13 844 patients with an incident diagnosis of microscopic colitis. Lymphocytic colitis (n = 9238) constituted 67% and collagenous colitis (n = 4606) 33% of microscopic colitis. The mean age at time of diagnosis of microscopic colitis was 60.2 years (58.6 for lymphocytic colitis, 63.3 for collagenous colitis). The lifetime risk of developing microscopic colitis was 0.87% in women (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.85-0.88) and 0.35% in men (95% CI: 0.34-0.36). From 2006, the overall incidence of microscopic colitis was approximately 10.5 cases per 100 000 person-years (95% CI: 9.8-11.3) with higher rates in women (72% of cases, incidence rate ratio = 2.4 (95% CI: 2.3-2.5) and the elderly with increasing rates up to 75-79 years. From 2006-2015, there was a significant increase of 1% per year (P = 0.02) in the overall microscopic colitis incidence rate in women; the estimated annual percent change was similar, although not statistically significant, in men (P = 0.15). Conclusions: In Sweden, the incidence of microscopic colitis is still increasing in women, although the rate appears to be stabilising. The incidence is particularly high in women and the elderly up to age 75-79 years. Finally, across a lifetime, 1 in 115 females and 1 in 286 males are expected to be diagnosed with microscopic colitis and thus posing a considerable disease burden.