Elsevier

Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Volume 75, Issue 9, September 2000, Pages 907-912
Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Original Article
Familial Association in Adults With Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

https://doi.org/10.4065/75.9.907Get rights and content

Objective

To evaluate the association between functional gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and a family history of abdominal pain or bowel problems.

Subjects and Methods

A valid self-report questionnaire that records GI symptoms and spouse's and first-degree relatives' history of abdominal pain or bowel troubles and includes the psychosomatic symptom checklist (a measure of somatization) was mailed to an age- and sex-stratified random sample of Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents aged 30 to 64 years. A logistic regression model that adjusted for age, sex, and somatic symptom score was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of a positive family history for each functional GI disorder.

Results

Six hundred forty-three (72 %) of 892 eligible subjects returned the survey. Reporting a first-degree relative with abdominal pain or bowel problems was significantly associated with reporting of irritable bowel syndrome (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.3–3.9) and dyspepsia (OR, 1.8; 95 % CI, 1.05–3.0) but not constipation, diarrhea, or gastroesophageal reflux. The reporting of a spouse with abdominal pain or bowel problems was not associated with any of these disorders.

Conclusions

A history of abdominal pain or bowel troubles in first-degree relatives was significantly associated with irritable bowel syndrome and dyspepsia. Whether the familial associations represent similar exposures in a shared environment, heightened familial awareness of GI symptoms (reporting bias), or genetic factors remains to be determined.

Section snippets

Subjects And Methods

The present study reports results from the third survey of a population-based cohort identified and followed longitudinally since 1988.

Results

A total of 643 (72%) of the 892 eligible subjects returned the survey. The mean age of the responders was 48 years, and 52.4% were female. Women tended to respond more than men (74% vs 70%), and the response rate increased with age. However, older women were less likely to respond than older men (P=.05). The proportions reporting each GI disorder were as follows: 12%, IBS; 14%, dyspepsia; 17%, constipation; 21 %, diarrhea; and 20%, gastroesophageal reflux. Subjects could meet criteria for

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first population-based study to identify an association between having IBS and having a first-degree relative with abdominal pain and bowel problems. An association between family history and dyspepsia was detected, but this was not as strong as the association with IBS. An association with diarrhea was detected only after removing subjects with IBS from the group without diarrhea. No association was detected for constipation or reflux alone, but the reporting of a

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Carol T. Van Dyke for her assistance in mailing the surveys, Dixie Tesmer for her assistance with data entry, and Karen A. Kruger for her assistance in preparing the manuscript.

References (27)

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This study was supported in part by grants AG09440 and AR30582 from the National Institutes of Health and by a research grant from Astra-Merck. Dr Locke is the recipient of an American College of Gastroenterology Institute Junior Faculty Development Award.

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