Contribution of sex and gender roles to the incidence of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome in a prospective study

Abstract

Post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) occurs in about 10% of cases following gastroenteritis. The incidence of IBS is higher in females. However, it is not clear whether this is due to biological or psychosocial factors. We aimed to investigate the influence of gender roles on the incidence of PI-IBS, alongside traditional risk factors. Our study included 231 patients diagnosed with gastroenteritis who were hospitalized and treated with antibiotics between 2018 and 2021. The Korean Sex Role Inventory-Short Form (KSRI-SF), based on the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) was used to categorize patients (androgynous, masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated types). Six months after treatment, we conducted a telephone survey to confirm the presence of PI-IBS using the ROME IV criteria. Among the patients, 43.3% were female, and the mean age was 43.67 ± 16.09 years. After 6 months, 34 patients developed PI-IBS. Univariate analysis revealed that younger age, female sex, KSRI-SF undifferentiated type, and longer duration of antibiotic use independently influenced the occurrence of PI-IBS. Multivariate analysis showed that PI-IBS was associated with the KSRI-SF undifferentiated type and higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Our study showed that the KSRI-SF undifferentiated type and high CRP levels at initial infection were associated with PI-IBS.