April is Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Awareness Month. Many people are confused about the differences between IBS and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Here is a quick comparison to help you tell the difference.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder, meaning there is some type of disturbance in the bowel function that leads to symptoms. It is not a disease, but a syndrome, which is defined as a group of symptoms. Basically, if you have a number of GI symptoms and do not test positive for a GI disease, you will be classified as having IBS.
People with IBS are likely to have other functional disorders, including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and osteoporosis and hormone imbalances. However, unlike IBD, those with IBS do not exhibit ulcers or other permanent damage to the bowel; those with IBS are also very unlikely to exhibit gastrointestinal bleeding. In addition, IBS does not cause visible inflammation. This means that the digestive system looks normal when examined (for instance, with a colonoscopy) but it doesn’t function normally.
IBS symptoms can range from mild to disabling and it is quite common. It has been estimated that 10%-20% of the adults in the US suffer from IBS and it is second only to the common cold as a cause of absenteeism from work. IBS usually begins in late adolescence or early in adult life and it is often triggered at times of emotional stress.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases including Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and Celiac Disease. The one strong and distinguishing feature of IBDs is an abnormal response by the body’s immune system. Normally, immune cells are protective; in IBD, the immune system mistakes food, bacteria and other materials in the intestine as foreign substances and it attacks the cells of the intestines. In the process, the body sends white blood cells into the lining of the intestines where they produce the chronic inflammation that is characteristic of these diseases.
There are relatively few disorders associated with IBD, but there are several that are common, including arthritis, osteoporosis and auto immune conditions. Gastrointestinal bleeding is common with IBDs as is visible and/or permanent damage to the GI tract. Those with IBD are at a much higher risk of developing colon cancer. IBDs affect about 1.4 million people in the US.
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