Journal of Depression and Anxiety
Open Access

Abstract

A Comorbidity Study of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

Lili Shi, Jinya Cao, Nana Xiong, Xiaohui Zhao, Jing Jiang, Liming Zhu, Zhifeng Wang, Xiaohong Sun, Xiucai Fang and Jing

Background: To investigate the comorbidity of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) in current major depressive disorder (MDD) patients.

Method: The prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and the comorbidity of FGIDs were studied in a set of consecutively enrolled current MDD patients in a general hospital psychiatric outpatient clinic from Mar, 17th, 2011 to Dec, 31st, 2011. A total of consenting 62 patients were included. MDD diagnosis was made by experienced psychiatrists according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria. FGIDs diagnosis was based on Rome III diagnostic questionnaire and approved by gastroenterologists.

Result: In this group, 58 (93.5%) reported gastrointestinal symptom, the most prevalent symptom is abdominal pain or bloating or discomfort (87.1%), followed by diarrhea or constipation (85.5%), decreased or increased appetite (83.9%), reduced or increased food intake (83.9%), burp or belching (77.4%), nausea or vomiting (46.8%). Forty-six of the total 62 patients (74.2%) met the criteria of one or more FGIDs. In these 46 patients, 30 (65.2%) patients have overlap syndrome (two or more FGIDs). Functional dyspepsia (FD) is the most prevalent (54.8%), then belching disorder (29.0%), functional heartburn (16.1%), unspecified functional bowel disorder (16.1%) and irritable bowel syndrome (12.9%).

Conclusion: In current MDD patients, gastrointestinal symptoms are common and a large percentage of them can already be diagnosed as FGIDs comorbidity, which demands clinical attention and future research.