Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Evaluation of 10 year cardiovascular disease risk in diagnosed patients

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a prevalent disorder in society characterized by symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, and disruptions in bowel movements. This condition adversely affects quality of life and can lead to economic losses. IBS, which affects approximately 11% of the global population, stands as one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders. Particularly, it disproportionately affects women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds compared to men. IBS is classified into various subtypes, with diagnostic criteria established by the Rome IV criteria. This study aimed to conduct a 10-year comparison of cardiovascular risk among different subtypes of IBS. Between 2018 and 2023, following approval from the AFSU Faculty of Medicine Ethics Committee, a total of 84 individuals, comprising 42 patients aged 30-79 diagnosed with IBS and 42 healthy controls, were enrolled in the study. The results indicated that although cardiovascular risk was higher in patients with IBS compared to the control group, there was no statistically significant difference. We compared the 10-year cardiovascular risk between IBS patients and healthy control groups. In our study, where we evaluated the 10-year cardiovascular risk using the Framingham score, we found the Framingham score of the IBS group to be 1.1 ± 2.3, while that of the healthy control group was 0.7 ± 1.9. Although there was an increased risk in the IBS group, there was no significant difference between the two groups. When evaluated according to IBS subgroups, the Framingham score of the IBS-C subgroup was 1.3 ± 2.4, with no significant difference compared to the control group. In conclusion, our study found that the 10-year cardiovascular risk score in patients with IBS was relatively higher compared to the control group, but this increase in risk did not reach statistical significance. Keywords: Abdominal pain, Constipation, Diarrhea, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)