School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2025

Abstract

Background

Studies have shown mixed results regarding the association between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and metabolic syndrome (MS); This study aimed to assess the susceptibility of IBS patients to MS and its individual components.

Methods

PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science were searched on 1/1/2023. Eligible studies were screened, and data on study characteristics, IBS diagnostic criteria, and metabolic syndrome components were extracted. Data were analysed in RevMan 5.4, with results reported as relative risk (RR) or mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence intervals. Statistical significance was set at p <  0.05.

Results

IBS was associated with an increased risk of MS (RR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.50–2.79, p <  0.00001), with a higher risk among IBS-D patients (RR = 3.09, 95% CI = 2.41–3.97, p <  0.00001). IBS patients showed increased HOMA-IR (MD = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.15–0.26, p <  0.00001), higher obesity risk (RR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.10–1.93, p = 0.009), elevated BMI (MD = 1.51, 95% CI = 0.98–2.03, p-value <  0.00001), waist circumference (MD = 5.01, 95% CI = 1.29–8.72, p = 0.008), and an association with systolic hypertension (MD = −0.50, 95% CI = −0.60 to −0.40, p-value <  0.00001). IBS was also linked to higher LDL (MD = 5.98, 95% CI = 0.91–11.05, p = 0.02), total cholesterol (MD = 12.21, 95% CI = 6.23–18.18, p <  0.0001), and triglycerides (MD = 11.93, 95% CI = 11.55–12.31, p <  0.00001).

Conclusions

This analysis indicates a potential association between IBS and metabolic syndrome, including its components such as obesity, hypertension, and lipid profile abnormalities. However, significant heterogeneity among studies limits the generalisability of these findings. Clinicians should remain aware of the possible link and consider individualised preventive and management strategies.

Comments

© 2025 The Author(s). Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolismpublished by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Title

Endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism

DOI

10.1002/edm2.70041

Academic Level

resident

Mentor/PI Department

Internal Medicine

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