I have chosen the irritable bowel syndrome as I have recently read a review article about the importance of relationships in IBS patients. IBS is characterised by abdominal pain, bloating and change of bowel habit. It is often accompanied by extra intestinal symptoms like backache, nausea, constant lethargy and urinary frequency.
Although there are guidelines to diagnose (Rome III Criteria) and treat IBS, its aetiology is difficult to comprehend from a disease based biomedical perspective. At present there are only hypothesis of what causes IBS such as hyperalgesia of the colon or acute gastrointestinal infection.
Psychosocial factors (i.e. life stress) seem to have a severe impact on the onset and progress of IBS. Gerson et Gerson report that support and depth in family relationships lead to lower illness experience whereas conflicts correlate with stronger illness apperception. They cite a study that included about 1500 IBS patients who were questioned about personal relationships. 6% felt that IBS affected their partner’s love for them, 19% felt that their partners had difficulties with their physical relationship and even 45% thought that IBS interfered with their sex life (Gerson et Gerson, 2012).
These findings might not seem very novel, but I find it important to think about alternative treatment strategies (i.e. family therapy) especially in diseases with pharmaceutical treatment options available that offer only limited success, such as IBS. What do you think?
Gerson M.-J. et Gerson C.D., The Importance of Relationsships in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Review. Gastroenterology Research and Practise (2012), p.1-5
