Irritable Bowel Syndrome - Causes

Causes

The cause of IBS is unknown, but several hypotheses have been proposed. The risk of developing IBS increases sixfold after acute gastrointestinal infection. Post-infection, further risk factors are young age, prolonged fever, anxiety, and depression. Publications suggesting the role of brain-gut "axis" appeared in the 1990s, such as the study "Brain-gut response to stress and cholinergic stimulation in IBS" published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology in 1993. A 1997 study published in Gut magazine suggested that IBS was associated with a "derailing of the brain-gut axis." Psychological factors may be important in the etiology of IBS.