Ouyang, Ann, Wrzos, Helena F · The American journal of gastroenterology · 2006 · DOI
This review article examines why irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)—a condition causing digestive discomfort—affects more women than men. The authors discuss how biological sex differences, hormones, and gender roles may influence who develops IBS and how severe their symptoms are. They suggest that while men and women are treated similarly for IBS, paying attention to stress and gender-specific factors might improve care.
This review is relevant to ME/CFS research because IBS is highly comorbid with ME/CFS and is more prevalent in women—the population predominantly affected by ME/CFS. Understanding how sex and gender influence visceral pain processing and symptom presentation may inform insights into the biological mechanisms underlying overlapping pain and gastrointestinal symptoms in ME/CFS patients.
This review does not prove that sex or gender differences directly cause IBS, nor does it establish causation for hormonal effects on gastrointestinal function. Being a narrative review rather than an experimental study, it cannot definitively isolate which biological or psychosocial factors are most critical in determining disease severity or treatment outcomes.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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