Psychological aspects of irritable bowel syndrome.

Psychological aspects of Irritable Bowel Syndrome have been well investigated in Western countries, but there is a paucity of Indian studies focusing on this area. A series of fifty patients with the Irritable Bowel Syndrome were studied with respect to their depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and their personality traits. Patients had a mean score of 14.68 on Hamilton's depression rating scale and 11.22 on Hamilton's anxiety rating scale, and were more introverted and more neurotic than the general population. No association was found between psychological symptoms and severity of gastrointestinal symptoms. These findings suggest that psychological symptoms are a concomitant part of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome.