Research has shown that Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is associated with lifestyle habits such as smoking, sleep, and exercise.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a chronic and recurrent gastrointestinal disorder that causes abdominal pain, diarrhea, or constipation. It is difficult to cure diseases with unknown causes.
According to MedPage Today, a medical news portal, a research team led by Professor Hopaipai of the Chinese Medicine Institute at the Chinese University of Hong Kong analyzed data from 64,268 adults (average age 55.9, 55% women) from the UK Biobank database (2006-2022) and found such facts.
According to the research, none of the individuals included in the database from 2006 to 2010 had Irritable Bowel Syndrome. However, during the tracking period until 2022, 1.5% of them were diagnosed with the syndrome.
The research team analyzed the correlation between lifestyle habits and Irritable Bowel Syndrome based on survey data about their health status and lifestyle habits, physical examination, and blood test results.
The results showed that five lifestyle habits – quitting smoking, getting adequate sleep, engaging in high-intensity exercise, eating healthy, and drinking moderately – are associated with a significantly lower risk of irritable bowel syndrome.
The incidence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome was 21% lower in groups with one of these five lifestyle habits, 36% lower in groups with two, and 42% lower in groups with three to five.
When looking at the five lifestyle habits individually, adequate sleep reduced the risk of Irritable Bowel Syndrome by 27%, high-intensity exercise by 17%, and quitting smoking by 14%. Healthy eating habits and moderate drinking had a prevention effect of 11% each, which was insignificant.
32.1% of the individuals had one of the five lifestyle habits, 34.1% had two, 21.9% had three to five, and 11.8% had none.
Those with three to five of the habits were typically younger, female, had a lower Body Mass Index (BMI), were married, employed, and had no family history of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
They were also less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, back pain, joint pain, headaches, asthma, or gastritis.
In response to recent studies, Professor Maitreyi Raman, a gastroenterology expert at the University of Calgary Medical School in Canada, recommends that individuals practice moderate exercise, prioritize high-quality sleep, follow a Mediterranean diet, and limit their consumption of processed foods to prevent Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
These research findings were published in the latest issue of Gut, the academic journal of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG).
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