Researchers have discovered in a new study that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients have a much greater long-term risk of acquiring inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than the general population. The study concluded that IBS patients, particularly those with the diarrhea-predominant subtype (IBS-D), had a higher risk of developing ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) in the long run. The study was published in the Journal of Gastroenterology by Huixin S. and colleagues.

IBS and IBD are two prevalent but different gastrointestinal disorders. IBS is defined as a functional disorder in which there is abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation, whereas IBD, encompassing UC and CD, is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease of the gastrointestinal tract with ongoing compli

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