When
Senator Harry Reid requested more funding to the Department of Defense for research on
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), it became a comedic punch-line in the news and
in former Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s recent memoir.
However,
the link between Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the risk of IBS is a real concern for veterans,
according to national medical researchers. The Department
of Veterans Affairs has determined that IBS is a disorder that can be
classified as a disability if related to military service – though the exact
cause of the syndrome is difficult to pinpoint.
"The
link between being a veteran and having a higher risk of IBS is unclear, partly
because the underlying cause [of IBS] is unclear" says Dr. Phillip Schoenfeld,
a University of Michigan medical school professor and expert in
gastroenterology, including IBS.
Certainly,
stress induced from service during wartime may exacerbate symptoms by inducing
chemical and hormonal changes. For example, one research finding is that female
veterans suffering from PTSD are much more likely to have IBS than female
veterans who don’t have PTSD, says Dr. Schoenfeld, who leads the
gastroenterology division at the Ann Arbor VA hospital.
In
2010, Congress did request the Institute of
Medicine and the National Academy of
Sciences to begin a comprehensive review of best treatments for chronic
multi-symptom illnesses, or CMI, faced by Gulf War veterans. The report
confirmed a growing consensus that no “specific causal factor” will be
identified for IBS, however “stress and crowded war theater conditions” that
may exacerbate the spreading of infections are suggested as triggers for IBS.
Whatever
the cause, the correlation between PTSD and IBS is no laughing matter for
veterans. "Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder that really compromises
the daily lives of veterans," Dr. Schoenfeld says.
Schoenfeld
further notes that while it is difficult to put a value on what disorders need
more research dollars, IBS is not one that should be dismissed as having a
negligible impact on veterans’ lives.
Learn
more about the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences’
study on CMI illnesses here: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13539
Read
more on the issue of PTSD and IBS here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2014/01/16/263087761/doctors-say-reid-request-for-bowel-research-money-no-joke
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