Abuse Worsens IBS Pain
February 6th, 2008 Posted by: Dr. Cox
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Women with a history of physical and/or sexual abuse may be more susceptible to the pain and suffering associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
According to researchers from UCLA and the University of North Carolina who conducted brain imaging studies on women with IBS, those with abuse in their backgrounds were less likely to be able to âturn offâ a specific pain mechanism in the brain as women who also had IBS but didnât have a history of abuse.
IBS is a painful abdominal disorder characterized by diarrhea and/or constipation. Studies have shown more than half of all women who suffer from IBS have a history of sexual or physical abuse. These investigators believe their finding may help explain why some of these women are less able to deal with the pain caused by the condition than others.
The authors hope their results will be used to help find new and better ways of addressing IBS, which is currently estimated to affect between 10 percent and 15 percent of the population.
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SOURCE: Gastroenterology, 2008;134:396-404