rome and Medically-Unexplained-Symptoms

Many studies have been published on disorders of the gut-brain interaction (DGBI) in Asia and Western Europe, but no previous study has directly assessed the difference between the two regions. The aim was to compare the prevalence of DGBI in Asia and Western Europe.. We used data collected in a population-based Internet survey, the Rome Foundation Global Epidemiology Study, from countries in Western Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) and Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore). We assessed DGBI diagnoses (Rome IV Adult Diagnostic Questionnaire), anxiety/depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-4, PHQ-4), non-GI somatic symptoms (PHQ-12), and access to and personal costs of doctor visits.. The study included 9487 subjects in Asia and 16,314 in Western Europe. Overall, 38.0% had at least one DGBI; younger age, female sex, and higher scores on PHQ4 and PHQ12 were all associated with DGBI. The prevalence of having at least one DGBI was higher in Western Europe than in Asia (39.1% vs 36.1%, OR 1.14 [95% CI 1.08-1.20]). This difference was also observed for DGBI by anatomical regions, most prominently esophageal DGBI (OR 1.67 [1.48-1.88]). After adjustment, the difference in DGBI prevalence diminished and psychological (PHQ-4) and non-GI somatic symptoms (PHQ-12) had the greatest effect on the odds ratio estimates.. The prevalence of DGBI is generally higher in Western Europe compared to Asia. A considerable portion of the observed difference in prevalence rates seems to be explained by more severe psychological and non-GI somatic symptoms in Western Europe.

Topics: Adult; Asia; Brain; Europe; Female; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Humans; Irritable Bowel Syndrome; Medically Unexplained Symptoms; Prevalence; Rome; Surveys and Questionnaires

Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI) are highly prevalent worldwide, but their effect on work productivity has not gained much attention.. We aimed to compare work productivity and activity impairment (WPAI) in persons with and without DGBI in a large population-based cohort and identify factors independently associated with WPAI in subjects with DGBI. Data were collected from Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden via Internet surveys as part of the Rome Foundation Global Epidemiology Study. Apart from the Rome IV diagnostic questionnaire, questionnaires evaluating WPAI related to general health (WPAI:GH), psychological distress (PHQ-4), somatic symptom severity (PHQ-15) and other factors were assessed.. Of the 16,820 subjects, 7111 met the criteria for DGBI according to the Rome IV diagnostic questionnaire. Subjects with DGBI were younger (median (interquartile range) age 43 (31-58) vs. 47 (33-62)) and more often female (59.0% vs. 43.7%) compared to subjects without DGBI. Subjects with DGBI had higher absenteeism, presenteeism (poor work productivity due to illness), overall work impairment and activity impairment (p < 0.001) compared with subjects without. For subjects with DGBI affecting more than one anatomical region, WPAI was incrementally higher for each additional region. There were significant differences in WPAI for subjects with DGBI in different countries. Subjects from Sweden had the highest overall work impairment and from Poland the lowest. Using multiple linear regression, male sex, fatigue, psychological distress, somatic symptom severity and number of anatomical regions were independently associated with overall work impairment (p < 0.05 for all).. In the general population, people with DGBI have substantial WPAI compared with those without DGBI. The reasons for these findings should be explored further, but having multiple DGBI, psychological distress, fatigue and somatic symptom severity seem to contribute to this impairment associated with DGBI.

Topics: Adult; Brain; Efficiency; Fatigue; Female; Humans; Male; Medically Unexplained Symptoms; Rome