LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- A UCLA study shows irritable bowel syndrome patients under age 50 who undergo a colonoscopy with normal results may not be reassured about their condition.
Previous studies suggested 10 percent of all U.S. colonoscopies are performed for evaluation of IBS symptoms. Irritable bowel syndrome affects 15 percent of the population and is a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain and altered bowel habits.
The study, conducted in cooperation with the Department of Veterans Affairs, indicates colonoscopy's role for irritable bowel syndrome patients may be limited.
The research -- led by Dr. Brennan Spiegel, an assistant professor of medicine at the UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and in the VA's Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System -- appears in the December issue of the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
