Irritable bowel syndrome and upper dyspepsia among the elderly: a study of symptom clusters in a random 70 year old population.

With the aim to assess the clustering of abdominal symptoms in a random population, data from a cohort study of a 70 year old Danish population were analysed. The cohort comprised 1,119 subjects of which 72% participated in a primary study and 91% of the survivors in a similar study five years later. The following clusters of symptoms were constantly associated. One group constituted abdominal distension, borborygmi, altering stool consistency and number of bowel movements. Pain relieved by bowel movement was associated with this cluster. Nausea and vomiting comprised another cluster. Heartburn/acid regurgitation did not show a consistent association to any other symptoms and may be considered as a cluster of it own. Pain characteristics traditionally related to upper dyspepsia did not specifically relate to any cluster. It is concluded that, in this 70-year-old population abdominal symptoms occur in clusters comparable to clusters in younger populations. The clusters, however, does not totally confirm the traditional concept of Upper Dyspepsia and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.