Prompt 12

The rise of life style associated diseases are typically defined as non-communicable diseases that are caused by external environmental factors. One disease that has been identified to increase in frequency within industrialized countries is irritable bowel syndrome. Irritable bowel syndrome has been identified as a chronic disorder of the large intestine that leads to symptoms of cramping, gas, diarrhea etc. Often, the broadly attributed factor of IBS is increasing poor lifestyle choices such as physical activity, sleep disturbances, and an unhealthy environment. There are a few hypotheses that analyze the reason for the rise of IBS in the world.  

One of the hypothesized causes of IBS' rise is due to the lifestyle factor of stress. Stress is a factor that can cause a lot of bodily ailments when allowed to persists since it keeps the body in a constant state of alertness. In an increasingly modern and high paced world, the need to stay busy and be active has been investigated as a cause for an increased stressor. This was investigated among medical and nursing students, which are two healthcare fields that are faced with high stress environments. The study found that due to the new high intensity environment that the students had not encountered before, the lifestyle ended up causing them to sacrifice sleep, nutrition, and exercise, which in turn caused an interaction between the abnormal defecation and bowel flora. The prevalence is then attributed to be due to the expectation of a high stress environment. The study found that in countries that emphasized health (e.g. Sweden) more were found to have less prevalence of the IBS symptoms due to the lower emphasis on the high impact environment. The need to maintain stress as evidence for production show why this is actually more of a mindset that leads to more illness than health 

However, the increase in life expectancy is another possible factor for the increase in IBS cases. There was the added factor caveat that due to the aging population surviving longer, we are experiencing an increase in IBS due to them being unable to keep up with a healthy lifestyle as they reach ages that were not previously common before. For the elderly population, it might be more difficult and physically demanding to make a nutritious meal in contrast to receiving fast food, especially in a world where fast food is so easily obtained in contrast to fresh food. As the older demographic is not physically active, that would increase their risk factor for developing IBS due to the lack of movement to keep their systems healthy. 



Guo, Y. B., Zhuang, K. M., Kuang, L., Zhan, Q., Wang, X. F., & Liu, S. D. (2015). Association between Diet and Lifestyle Habits and Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Case-Control Study. Gut and liver, 9(5), 649–656. https://doi.org/10.5009/gnl13437

Mathur, Prashant; Mascarenhas, Leena (2019). "LIFESTYLE DISEASES: Keeping fit for a better tomorrow". The Indian Journal of Medical Research. 149 (Suppl 1): S129–S135.

Okami, Y., Kato, T., Nin, G., Harada, K., Aoi, W., Wada, S., ... & Fukudo, S. (2011). Lifestyle and psychological factors related to irritable bowel syndrome in nursing and medical school students. Journal of gastroenterology, 46(12), 1403-1410.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20360016#:~:text=IBS%20can%20develop%20after%20a,have%20more%20symptoms%20of%20IBS%20.

Comments

  1. Kayla E.April 22, 2021 at 9:17 AM

    Hello Joanne!

    I found your blog so interesting! Its unbelievable how much stress we are under on a day to day basis, especially the health care providers. The relationship between stress and bowl flora is something I haven't considered. I think the last 6 or 7 generations have thought of food as whatever we feed ourselves and our body should take what it can from it so we can continue to function. But food is so much more than that, and poor diets coupled with massive amounts of stress an poor sleep are astronomical implications.

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  2. Ally JensenApril 22, 2021 at 8:47 PM

    Hi Joanne,
    I really enjoyed reading your blog! I know basically nothing about IBS, so I learned a lot. I had no idea that older people were at higher risk. I also think it's super interesting the impact that stress can have on your physical health. Stress is so bad for you, yet for so many people it's a daily struggle. Great post!

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