Interrelationship between Asthma and Functional Bowel Disease

• Published in: European journal of inflammation Vol. 2; no. 3; pp. 125 - 128
• Main Authors: Riccioni, G., Della Vecchia, R., Romano, F., Staniscia, T., Verna, N., De Lutiis, M. A., Comani, S., Petrarca, C., Castellani, M.L., Di Ilio, C., D'Orazio, N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-09-2004; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Asthma; Irritable bowel syndrome; intestinal motility; stress; asthma; bronchial hyperresponsiveness; irritable bowel syndrome; methacholine
• ISSN: 2058-7392; 1721-727X; 2058-7392
• DOI: 10.1177/1721727X0400200305

Gastrointestinal abnormalities have been reported in subjects with bronchial asthma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in subjects with bronchial asthma. 380 asthmatic patients were selected for body mass index (BMI), sex, and age, before undergoing both methacholine challenge test (MCHt) and skin prick tests. 195 asthmatic patients (51.3%) were positive to MCHt, while 185 (41.6 %) were negative. We also found that 17 (8.7%) of the 276 patients with positive MCHt, and 22 (11.8%) of the 185 patients with negative MCHt were affected by IBS. Therefore, there was no statistical significance between positive MCHt tests and IBS. The results do not demonstrate an interrelationship between asthma and IBS.