Why does irritable bowel syndrome affect women more than men? | health

People with irritable bowel syndrome feel ashamed of their condition, and research shows that they face dismissive attitudes even from doctors, suggesting that their symptoms are just an illusion, which may prompt them to turn to social media and non-evidence-based prescriptions.

What is this syndrome? How can it be dealt with? Why does it affect women more than men? Dr. Lauren Manning, lecturer in dietetics and human nutrition at La Trobe University in Australia, shares the answers to these questions with The Independent.

Irritable bowel syndrome is a complex disorder that affects messages sent by a neural network known as the brain-gut axis.

People with this condition experience unexpected and uncomfortable bowel movements, such as diarrhea and constipation, and other symptoms may include pelvic pain, headaches and fatigue, which significantly affects quality of life.

The exact cause of irritable bowel syndrome is still unclear, but scientists know that messages between the brain and intestines go off track, and the stressors of daily life can speed up or slow down these messages.

This results in increased reactivity of the intestines as they become overly sensitive to food, stress and anxiety, leading to unexpected bowel movements.

Hormones worsen symptoms

Studies indicate that women are twice as likely to develop this condition as men, and that the symptoms are most common among those between the ages of 18 and 39 years, and cause them great embarrassment.

The different symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in men and women – and their severity – may be due to differences in hormones.

Men have more testosterone than women, and it is believed that this hormone helps protect against irritable bowel syndrome. On the other hand, fluctuations in the hormones estrogen and progesterone – which are more common in women – can exacerbate symptoms.

These hormones affect the speed at which food moves through the intestine, speeding up or slowing down the number of times the intestine contracts, and thus leading to pain and other symptoms such as constipation and diarrhea.

The likelihood of symptoms worsening in women increases during the childbearing years. Symptoms often worsen during menstruation, which is the period in which the level of estrogen and progesterone decreases. There is also evidence of an increased likelihood of developing irritable bowel syndrome in women with endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome.