A Comparative Survey of Personality Characteristics in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Healthy Individuals

Irritable bowel syndrome is the most common gastrointestinal disorder with an estimated prevalence of 22 percent in general population. Its etiology remains unclear. But impact of psych on physiology of digestion system is undeniable.
Considering the importance of psychological factors in this syndrome, the aim of the study is more accurate investigation of these factors with focus on personality characteristics in IBS patients and its types with Diarrhea dominant, Constipation dominant & Altering type.
the research method is descriptive-comparative and the research sample consists of 170 subjects, including 85 patients (21 with Diarrhea dominant, 30 with Constipation dominant & 34 with Altering type) and 85 healthy subjects, selected in Razi state hospital in Rasht, using availability sampling method. Patients were diagnosed by a gastroenterologist using the ROME II criteria and clinical evaluation and endoscopy (in some cases). Having been diagnosed, patients were asked to complete personality inventory forms (NEOPI-R) designed by Mc Crue & Kosta (1992), containing five major personality factors (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness & conscientiousness). The obtained data were analyzed by implementing independent sample T test and ANOVA. P value=0.05 was considered significant.
based on the obtained results, neuroticism was significantly higher)P≥0/001 (and extraversion was significantly lower )P≥0/001) in patients, compared to those of healthy subjects.
based on these results, it seems that in psychological treatment we need to pay more attention to personality characteristics of IBS patients