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The risk of irritable bowel syndrome in patients with endometriosis during a 5-year follow-up: a nationwide population-based cohort study

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International Journal of Colorectal Disease Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Studies have suggested that endometriosis may coexist with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Using a population-based cohort study, we followed subjects for a 5-year period to identify the risk of IBS after a diagnosis of endometriosis.

Methods

This cohort study used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database as a source of subjects. A total of 6076 patients with endometriosis from 2000 to 2005 were identified. Their data were compared with those of 30,380 age-matched controls without endometriosis who were randomly selected from the same database. All subjects were tracked for 5 years from the date of cohort entry to identify the risk of IBS. The Cox model was used to evaluate the 5-year event occurrence of IBS.

Results

Nine hundred twenty-six patients were diagnosed with IBS, including 256 in the case cohort (4.2 %) and 670 in the control cohort (2.2 %). The Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrated significantly lower event-free rates in the case cohort than in the control cohort (P = 0.001). After adjusting for urbanization level, monthly income, residential region and comorbidities, the hazard ratio (HR) within 5 years revealed a 1.79-fold (95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.55–2.07) greater risk among the cases than the controls. The HR was higher within the first year of follow-up (HR 1.90, 95 % CI 1.42–2.55) and in those women aged 25–34 years (HR 2.17, 95 % CI 1.61–2.92).

Conclusions

The risk of IBS among endometriosis patients persisted over 5 years of follow-up. The association detected in this study might have proceeded through shared risk and pathogenic factors.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan (Grants No. NSC 101-2623-E-010-001-NU and NSC 103-2410-H-264-004). We thank the ELSEVIER for English editing.

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Author information

Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Dermatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shih-Pai Road, Taipei, 11217, Taiwan

      Chen-Yi Wu

    2. Institute of Public Health & Department of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, No. 155, Sec. 2, Li-Nong Street, Taipei, 11221, Taiwan

      Chen-Yi Wu

    3. Department of Healthcare Management, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, No. 306, Yuanpei Street, Hsinchu, 30015, Taiwan

      Wei-Pin Chang

    4. Section of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shih-Pai Road, Taipei, 11217, Taiwan

      Yen-Hou Chang & Chi-Mu Chuang

    5. Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, No. 155, Sec. 2, Li-Nong Street, Taipei, 11221, Taiwan

      Yen-Hou Chang & Chi-Mu Chuang

    6. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shih-Pai Road, Taipei, 11217, Taiwan

      Chung-Pin Li

    7. National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, No. 155, Sec. 2, Li-Nong Street, Taipei, 11221, Taiwan

      Chung-Pin Li

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    1. Chen-Yi Wu
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    Correspondence to Chung-Pin Li or Chi-Mu Chuang.

    Additional information

    Chen-Yi Wu and Wei-Pin Chang contributed equally to this work.

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    Wu, CY., Chang, WP., Chang, YH. et al. The risk of irritable bowel syndrome in patients with endometriosis during a 5-year follow-up: a nationwide population-based cohort study. Int J Colorectal Dis 30, 907–912 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-015-2218-6

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-015-2218-6

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