Bloating of the stomach is a common condition most often caused by the food consumed. However, a new study has discovered how the condition can also be greatly affected. for the mood.
It’s not clear how stress, anxiety, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are related, or which comes first, but studies show that they can all be related.
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Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects approximately one in 10 people with symptoms including abdominal pain, bloating, constipation or diarrhoea.
The condition is said to have strong links to the sufferer’s mental condition, especially feelings of anxiety.
A new study published in the journal Nature Geneticsfound that the genes they can be the root cause that binds all the conditions.
The study examined more than 50,000 participants suffering from IBS and compared their DNA to come to the conclusion about the misunderstood intestinal disorder.
Professor Miles Parkes, Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Addenbrookes Hospital Cambridge who led the genetic research, said the IBS still not well understoodeven for some clinicians, and which may be misclassified as psychosomatic Due to the overlap with anxiety and stress.
He and his team say they have identified at least six distinct genetic differences that could, at least in part, explain this gut-mind link.
It was also observed that women are slightly more affected than menand the usual age for patients to seek advice is between 20 and 40 years old.
The study found the following:
- In general, the heritability of IBS (how much your genes influence your chance of developing a particular condition) is very low
- six genetic differences were more common in people with IBS than in the control population.
- Most of these have functions in the brain and possibly nerves that irrigate the intestinerather than the intestine itself.
- The same genetic makeup that puts people at higher risk for IBS also increases risk of common mood disorderssuch as anxiety, depression and neuroticism, as well as insomnia.
- Strong emotions such as stress, anxiety, and depression trigger chemicals in the brain that activate pain signals in your gut that can cause your colon to react.
- Although psychological problems such as anxiety do not cause digestive upset, people with IBS they may be more sensitive to emotional problems.
That does not mean that anxiety causes symptoms of the disease or vice versa, Professor Parkes added.
«Our study shows that these conditions have shared genetic origins, and affected genes possibly lead to physical changes in nerve or brain cells that, in turn, cause symptoms in the brain and symptoms in the gut.»
There is evidence that keeping stress under control can help you prevent or relieve IBS symptomspoints out is a specialized site WebMD.
The health site added: “Your gut has what you can call a brain of its own. Is he enteric nervous system.
«And it’s the reason he gets butterflies in his stomach when he’s nervous.»
“This second brain controls how food is digested. It also constantly talks to your real brain.
«This connection can help you manage your IBS.»