Rectal Visceral Sensitivity in Women with Irritable Bowel Syndrome without Psychiatric Comorbidity Compared with Healthy Volunteers

Table 2

Visceral sensitivity of rectal barostat measurements in 38 IBS patients without comorbid psychiatric disorders, 10 IBS patients with comorbid phobic anxiety and, 9 healthy volunteers. Values are mean ± SD; pressure is reported in mmHg and volume in Ml; of the IBS patients without psychiatric disorders only 33 reported the first feeling of gas, 34 the first feeling of stool, and 35 reported the VAS at discomfort threshold. Of the IBS patients with comorbid phobic anxiety only 8 reported the first feeling of gas and 9 the first feeling of stool.

	IBS patients		Healthy volunteers
	Without psychiatric disorders	With phobic anxiety
Gas thresholds
Pressure	10.3 ± 5.9	17.0 ± 9.0^**	12.0 ± 5.7
Volume	63 ± 47	108 ± 82^**	98 ± 67
Stool thresholds
Pressure	15.3 ± 6.9	16.0 ± 10.2	16.4 ± 5.8
Volume	100 ± 67	102 ± 88	145 ± 77
Discomfort thresholds
Pressure	29.1 ± 9.3	29.7 ± 8.6	31.6 ± 6.1
Volume	197 ± 70^∗	205 ± 88	249 ± 67
VAS	6.4 ± 1.8	6.1 ± 1.7	6.9 ± 0.9

^∗𝑃<.05 from healthy volunteers ^∗∗𝑃<.05 from IBS patients without comorbid psychiatric disorders