ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners1999
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome: health status and use of health care services.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 1999. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Guideline
- Modification of the Low FODMAP Diet Is Feasible in the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Randomised Crossover Study.Gastroenterology research and practice · 2025Article
- Loneliness and Mental Health: The Mediating Effect of Perceived Social Support.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Comparing the Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Therapy with Emotion Regulation Treatment on Quality of Life and Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.Iranian journal of psychiatry · 2018Article
- Pediatric Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patient and Parental Characteristics Differ by Care Management Type.Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition · 2017Article
- GP perspectives of irritable bowel syndrome--an accepted illness, but management deviates from guidelines: a qualitative study.BMC family practice · 2013Article
- The profiles of adults who consult alternative health practitioners and/or general practitioners.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2007Article
- Irritable bowel syndrome.Clinical drug investigation · 2007Review
- Relationship of bloating to other GI and menstrual symptoms in women with irritable bowel syndrome.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2004Article
- Psychologic Therapies for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.Current treatment options in gastroenterology · 2001Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe reason for consulting a physician is more related to illness behaviour than to the severity of complaints. Yet, little is known about the course of complaints, the health care seeking behaviour, and psychosocial factors influencing these items in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) attending the general practitioner (GP).
aimTo study health status, lifestyle, and use of health care services of patients with IBS in order to indicate problem areas accessible for intervention strategies.
methodStructured interviews of 53 patients with IBS aged 15 years and older compared with a general population of 12,975 in the same age range, all drawn from the Dutch National survey of Morbidity and Intervention in General Practice.
resultsPatients with IBS revealed a lower grade of education (P < 0.001), poorer health (P < 0.001), a higher mean complaint score (8.3 versus 4.0, P < 0.001), a higher score on the General Health Questionnaire (P < 0.001), a higher score on the biographic problem list (BIOPRO, 2.3 versus 1.4, P < 0.001), and more absence from work (32% versus 18% in two months, P < 0.01). Patients with IBS consulted the family physician (1.6 versus 0.8 in three months, P < 0.001), the physical therapist (30% versus 15% in one year, P < 0.001), and the alternative therapist (32% versus 15% in five years, P < 0.001) more often than those without.
conclusionsThe study shows an excess of comorbidity, psychosocial problems, use of health care services, and absence owing to disease in patients with IBS. Special guidelines and training of GPs to apply a more integral approach may reduce the cost of health care and may lead to a more favourable course in patients with IBS.
Indexed as
Identifiers
10885081PMC1313528W1601500398What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.