Irritable bowel syndrome - Patterns of ambulatory health care and resource use in the United States, 1993-1997

In the mid-1980s irritable bowel syndrome was estimated to result in 2.5 million office-based physician visits per year in the United States. This study investigates more recent patterns of ambulatory care in the United States using data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey for the years 1993-1997. We estimate that there are 11.3 ambulatory physician visits per 1000 US population per year with a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome: 92% (2.7 million visits per year) are to office-based physicians, 7% to outpatient departments and 1% to emergency departments. Women account for 74% of visits. Drugs, most commonly gastrointestinal agents and anxiolytics, are prescribed at more than three quarters of all visits; prescribing of multiple drugs is common. Office-based physician visit rates and patterns of drug treatment have not changed markedly since the 1980s. Visit rates increase more steeply with age than previously reported.