Risk of psychiatric disorders in irritable bowel syndrome-A nationwide, population-based, cohort study.

AIMS: This cohort study aimed to investigate the association between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and the risk of developing psychiatric disorders.

METHODS: Utilizing the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan, IBS patients were identified and compared with age, sex, and index year-matched controls (1:3).

RESULTS: Of the IBS subjects, 3934 in 22 356 (17.60%, or 1533.68 per 100 000 person-years) developed psychiatric disorders when compared with 6127 in 67 068 (9.14%, or 802 per 100 000 person-years) in the non-IBS control group. Fine and Gray's survival analysis revealed that the study subjects were more likely to develop psychiatric disorders. The crude hazard ratio (HR) is 3.767 (95% CI: 3.614-3.925, P < .001), and the adjusted HR is 3.598 (95% CI: 3.452-3.752, P < .001) in the risk of developing psychiatric disorders after being adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, geographical area of residence, urbanisation level of residence, and monthly insurance premiums. The cohort study revealed that IBS subjects were associated with an increased risk of anxiety, depression, bipolar, and sleep disorders.

CONCLUSIONS: This cohort study, using NHIRD, shows evidence support that patients with IBS have a 3.6-fold risk of developing psychiatric disorders. Other large or national datasets should be done to explore to underlying mechanisms.