Prevalence of Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction Increased After Pandemic

TUESDAY, Aug. 5, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The prevalence of disorders of the gut-brain interaction (DGBI) increased from before to after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published online July 30 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Olafur Palsson, Psy.D., from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues performed a two-country survey to examine the effect of COVID-19 infection on the risk for developing DGBI. A population-based online survey was conducted across the United Kingdom and United States in 2017 and 2023 (prepandemic [4,050 respondents] and postpandemic [4,002 respondents]). The surveys included the Rome IV diagnostic questionnaire.

The researchers found a significant increase in overall DGBI prevalence from the prepandemic to postpandemic era (38.3 to 42.6 percent; odds ratio, 1.20); similar findings were independently observed in the United Kingdom and the United States. The increase in DGBI was seen within the esophageal, gastroduodenal, and bowel domains (odds ratios, 1.16, 1.45, and 1.12, respectively). Large postpandemic prevalence increases were seen in the two most widely investigated DGBIs: functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome (odds ratios, 1.48 and 1.31, respectively). Younger age, female sex, anxiety, depression, medium-to-high somatic symptom severity, an increasing number of COVID-19 infections, experiencing abdominal pain or diarrhea during COVID-19 infection, and suffering with long COVID were factors significantly associated with DGBI in the postpandemic era.

“Health care services and research funding bodies should prepare for the increase in post-COVID and long-COVID with DGBI, and address optimal management for this patient group,” the authors write.

Two authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry; the 2023 survey was funded by Tillotts Pharma and Novonesis.

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