What causes IBS?
There is no clear cause of IBS. However it is becoming more common in developing countries, which suggests some possible links to diet and cultural factors. IBS may be the result of the colons immune systems response to different foods such as diary products. There is some connection also in people developing irritable bowel syndrome after an episode of gastroenteritis, suggesting that there may be an immune system component possibly triggered by a viral illness. For women, it is known that menstruation can trigger or worsen IBS symptoms, while pregnancy and menopause can either worsen or improve the IBS symptoms. Most recently, researchers have found that bacteria in the intestines may be the cause of IBS.
There are no real causes for IBS since IBS is not a disease but a dysfunction of the bowel that you either have or not. There are just certain things that can trigger symptoms or aggravate symptoms for people with IBS. In most of the cases certain foods can trigger the symptoms, as for example milk, chocolate, alcohol or fatty foods. Also overeating will cause discomfort. Stress might be another reason why IBS symptoms can become worse.
This is not yet completely understood. In IBS there is an altered pattern of muscle contraction in the colon and increased sensitivity within the gastrointestinal tract, as well as a tendency for the bowel to be overly reactive to various triggers such as eating, emotional arousal, gastrointestinal infections, menstrual period, or gaseous distension. In IBS, normal regulation of the communication between the brain and the gut becomes altered, which leads to changes in normal bowel function.
Recent physiological and psychosocial data have emerged to improve our understanding of IBS. A biopsychosocial model of IBS involving physiological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral factors is now felt to be involved in symptom generation. Physiological factors implicated in the etiology of IBS symptoms include: visceral hypersensitivity to spontaneous contractions and to balloon distention of the bowel, autonomic dysfunction including exaggerated colonic motility response to stress and alterations in fluid and electrolyte handling by the bowel, and an alteration in the gastrocolonic response. However, alterations in these physiological parameters are generally found in only a subset of patients and frequently do not correlate with bowel symptoms. Behavioral factors such as stressful life events are reported by up to 60% of IBS patients to be associated with the first onset of the disease or with its exacerbation. Laboratory stressors have also been shown to affect gastrointestinal
