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Comparison of sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, and gastrointestinal symptoms between patients with endometriosis and IBS

Petersson, Agnes LU orcid ; Roth, Bodil LU ; Jokubkiene, Ligita LU ; Sladkevicius, Povilas LU orcid and Ohlsson, Bodil LU (2025) In BMC Gastroenterology 25(1).
Abstract

Objectives: Endometriosis and Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are two common diseases with overlapping symptomatology, causing confusion and delay in the diagnostic process. The objective of this study was to identify differences between endometriosis and IBS diagnosed according to Rome IV, by comparing sociodemographic factors, lifestyle habits, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Materials and methods: Patients with endometriosis (n = 214), confirmed by laparoscopy or at transvaginal ultrasound, were recruited at the Department of Gynecology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö. Patients with IBS (n = 199) were recruited from primary care centers, the Department of Gastroenterology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, and by advertisements at... (More)

Objectives: Endometriosis and Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are two common diseases with overlapping symptomatology, causing confusion and delay in the diagnostic process. The objective of this study was to identify differences between endometriosis and IBS diagnosed according to Rome IV, by comparing sociodemographic factors, lifestyle habits, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Materials and methods: Patients with endometriosis (n = 214), confirmed by laparoscopy or at transvaginal ultrasound, were recruited at the Department of Gynecology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö. Patients with IBS (n = 199) were recruited from primary care centers, the Department of Gastroenterology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, and by advertisements at social media. All study participants answered questionnaires regarding sociodemographic factors, lifestyle habits, and medical history. Gastrointestinal symptoms were evaluated using the validated Visual Analog Scale for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (VAS-IBS). Results: There were limited differences in sociodemographic factors and lifestyle habits between women with endometriosis and IBS. However, endometriosis patients mainly needed analgetic treatment, opioids in 9.3% of cases, whereas IBS patients often needed drugs for intestinal dysfunction. GI symptoms were more aggravated in IBS than in endometriosis, especially diarrhea and constipation. The initial trigger events differed between the two diseases: menarche being most common in endometriosis and stress or infection/antibiotic treatment being most common in IBS. Both groups reported improvement of GI symptoms after dietary changes. Conclusions: The findings indicate that a thorough anamnesis about onset of disease and medication needs together with rating of gastrointestinal symptoms by validated instruments could be useful tools to differentiate between endometriosis and IBS in clinical practice.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Endometriosis, Gastrointestinal symptoms, IBS, Lifestyle habits, Sociodemographic factors, Trigger events
in
BMC Gastroenterology
volume
25
issue
1
article number
742
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • scopus:105019326142
  • pmid:41120983
ISSN
1471-230X
DOI
10.1186/s12876-025-04379-9
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c59e1c02-b345-4fe2-b809-8bd73c43b11a
date added to LUP
2025-12-11 11:21:35
date last changed
2025-12-12 03:00:11
@article{c59e1c02-b345-4fe2-b809-8bd73c43b11a,
  abstract     = {{<p>Objectives: Endometriosis and Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are two common diseases with overlapping symptomatology, causing confusion and delay in the diagnostic process. The objective of this study was to identify differences between endometriosis and IBS diagnosed according to Rome IV, by comparing sociodemographic factors, lifestyle habits, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Materials and methods: Patients with endometriosis (n = 214), confirmed by laparoscopy or at transvaginal ultrasound, were recruited at the Department of Gynecology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö. Patients with IBS (n = 199) were recruited from primary care centers, the Department of Gastroenterology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, and by advertisements at social media. All study participants answered questionnaires regarding sociodemographic factors, lifestyle habits, and medical history. Gastrointestinal symptoms were evaluated using the validated Visual Analog Scale for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (VAS-IBS). Results: There were limited differences in sociodemographic factors and lifestyle habits between women with endometriosis and IBS. However, endometriosis patients mainly needed analgetic treatment, opioids in 9.3% of cases, whereas IBS patients often needed drugs for intestinal dysfunction. GI symptoms were more aggravated in IBS than in endometriosis, especially diarrhea and constipation. The initial trigger events differed between the two diseases: menarche being most common in endometriosis and stress or infection/antibiotic treatment being most common in IBS. Both groups reported improvement of GI symptoms after dietary changes. Conclusions: The findings indicate that a thorough anamnesis about onset of disease and medication needs together with rating of gastrointestinal symptoms by validated instruments could be useful tools to differentiate between endometriosis and IBS in clinical practice.</p>}},
  author       = {{Petersson, Agnes and Roth, Bodil and Jokubkiene, Ligita and Sladkevicius, Povilas and Ohlsson, Bodil}},
  issn         = {{1471-230X}},
  keywords     = {{Endometriosis; Gastrointestinal symptoms; IBS; Lifestyle habits; Sociodemographic factors; Trigger events}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{BMC Gastroenterology}},
  title        = {{Comparison of sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, and gastrointestinal symptoms between patients with endometriosis and IBS}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12876-025-04379-9}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s12876-025-04379-9}},
  volume       = {{25}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}