Association between intestinal infections and development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

METHODS: Systematic review of the medical literature (1999-2012) was used to find 7 case-control studies of association between intestinal infections and development of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Meta-analysis was used to evaluate the association. 95% CI (confidence interval) was calculated for exposed and non-exposed controls. Test of heterogeneity was also performed. RESULTS: The median incidence of IBS in the cases was 8% (Range 4.0–31) and for the controls 1% (0.3 - 11). However, the lower limits of 95% CI for 3 studies were lower than 1 odd ratio (OR). One study had a wider CI is considered to be caused by small sample size. The other 4 studies show significantly greater-than-1 OR. Specifically, two have narrower CIs due to the relatively large sample sizes. For the pooled studies, the OR based on The Mantel-Haenstzel fixed effects model was 4.1 (95% CI 3.3–5.1). A random effects model was used, as the test shows with significant heterogeneity (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This study is consistent with previous research; we found that the individuals who have Intestinal Infections are more likely to develop IBS