Improvement of social hygiene and decreased H. pylori prevalence has resulted in the decrease of gastric organic diseases such as gastric ulcers and/or cancers. However, the number of patients with dyspeptic symptoms does not seem to have decreased, probably due to increased life stress and complicated social structures. Accordingly the attention to functional dyspepsia is rapidly increasing, a...

AIM To determine the prevalence, symptom pattern and impact of the irritable bowel syndrome, across eight European countries, using a standardized methodology. METHODS A community survey of 41 984 individuals was performed using quota sampling and random digit telephone dialing to identify those with diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome or those meeting diagnostic criteria, followed by in-depth...

A recent editorial in the journal commented that: based on their prevalence and health-economic impact, disorders of gastrointestinal (GI) motor and sensory function continue to represent a major unmet need . Although all investigators working in this field would likely concur with the statement, it is important that we are clear in our minds what conditions these disorders actually represent, ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The majority of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are diagnosed and treated in primary care. The aim of this study was to investigate the implementation of the Rome criteria in daily primary care clinical practice and adherence of general practitioners (GPs) to recommended diagnostic approaches for IBS. PATIENTS AND METHODS A survey consisting of 18 questi...

Background. The prevalence of constipation in the (German) population has been shown to be 14.9% in a telephone survey, but more detailed data are required to characterize the sociographics and clinical characteristics of persons with different types of functional constipation, either constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C) or functional constipation with or without meeting Ro...

OBJECTIVE Cow's milk allergy has different presentations in children and can cause functional bowel symptoms such as chronic constipation. The aims of this study were to investigate the role of cow's milk allergy as a cause of chronic constipation and effect of cow's milk free diet (CMFD) on its treatment in children. METHODS We performed a randomized clinical study comparing CMFD with cow's ...

BACKGROUND Case-control studies are vital for understanding the pathophysiology of gastrointestinal disease. While the definition of disease is clear, the definition of healthy control is not. This is particularly relevant for functional bowel diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In this study, a systematic review formed the basis for a prospective study evaluating the effectiveness...