Nasty cramps, too-frequent or too-few visits to the toilet, impossible-to-soothe bloating – these symptoms are probably all-too familiar, as 20 per cent of the UK population suffers from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) at some point, with women accounting for two thirds of cases. We didn’t hear our grandmothers complaining about bloating, though, so what’s behind this now seemingly omnipresent complaint? One theory is a link to our increasing allergy problem. ‘Some people with functional gut symptoms have underlying atopy (a genetic predisposition to developing allergic diseases), and allergic diseases are on the rise around the world,’ explains neurogastroenterologist Nick Talley.
Another major problem is how difficult IBS is to diagnose, as it’s poorly understood, and there’s no single test for it. Recent research involving 1000 IBS and IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) sufferers found that a third had to visit their GP more than five times to get diagnosed, and 11 per cent had to make over 10 visits. ‘Many experts are convinced IBS is, in fact, several diseases,’ says Talley. ‘It runs in families, can occur after acute gastroenteritis, but we’ve also found some possible causes, from a genetic mutation to a bacteria in the colon.’