Is IBS Hereditary??
#12965 - 07/02/03 06:52 AM
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Ashley62
Reged: 06/17/03
Posts: 60
Loc: Eastern Ontario, Canada
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Heather (or anyone else with info) - I seem to have a family history of GI problems. My grandmother had Diverticulitis, my Mom has always had "a bad stomach" as does my sister. Now that I have your book, my Mom is going out to buy it, my nephew says he thinks he may have IBS and my neice has gone through her second "attack" in 2 months of terrible cramps and vomiting. The doctors were very little help (surprise, surprise!!), one diagnosed her after 10 minutes of having a bowel obstruction! Lucky for her my sister is a nurse and rather vocal!
Anyway, just wondering if there is any research into these types of problems running in a family?
PS - I have recently been away to cottages 2 weeks in a row and stuck to my new eating plan and feel good. My family has been very supportive as have my friends, especially when I tell them I've been in pain almost daily for 20 years and now feel good! I think most people want to help if you explain the issue and give them a chance. Thanks again for your great books & to everyone on this board - you are all awesome!
 Leah
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Leah
"Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul"
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I have a feeling that it might be. Both of my parents have tummy troubles ( my mom more than my dad) and some of the symptoms are very similiar to mine! Also, my grandmother had her gallbladder out way back when they thought that was the only solution, so I believe that it does run in the family!
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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's all about???
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Good question, I've always wondered about that. No one in my immediate family has IBS, but my dad's mother has pancreatic cancer, diabetes and possible IBS when she was younger.
Other than that I'm not aware of anyone in my family history that has GI issues.
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~jules
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FYI
Gastroenterology. 2001 Oct;121(4):799-804. Related Articles, Links
Irritable bowel syndrome in twins: heredity and social learning both contribute to etiology.
Levy RL, Jones KR, Whitehead WE, Feld SI, Talley NJ, Corey LA.
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. rlevy@u.washington.edu
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Heredity has been suggested to explain the finding that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) tends to run in families. Research in this area has been limited. The aim of the present study was to assess the relative contribution of genetic and environmental (social learning) influences on the development of IBS by comparing concordance rates in monozygotic and dizygotic twins to concordance between mothers and their children. METHODS: Questionnaires soliciting information on the occurrence of more than 80 health problems, including IBS, in self and other family members were sent to both members of 11,986 twin pairs. RESULTS: Analysis is based on 10,699 respondents representing 6060 twin pairs. Concordance for IBS was significantly greater (P = 0.030) in monozygotic (17.2%) than in dizygotic (8.4%) twins, supporting a genetic contribution to IBS. However, the proportion of dizygotic twins with IBS who have mothers with IBS (15.2%) was greater than the proportion of dizygotic twins with IBS who have co-twins with IBS (6.7%, P < 0.001), and logistic regression analysis showed that having a mother with IBS and having a father with IBS are independent predictors of irritable bowel status (P < 0.001); both are stronger predictors than having a twin with IBS. Addition of information about the other twin accounted for little additional predictive power. CONCLUSIONS: Heredity contributes to development of IBS, but social learning (what an individual learns from those in his or her environment) has an equal or greater influence.
Publication Types:
Twin Study
PMID: 11606493
Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Health Care Seeking: Do We Pass Our Bad Habits Onto Our Children?
http://www-east.elsevier.com/ajg/issues/9502/ajg1819edi.htm
Somewhere, but can't find it yet, is the shear prevalance of gi disorders.
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My website on IBS is www.ibshealth.com
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Hmm I know my better half, and her sister both share most of their allergys, as well as IBS. Might sound odd but their enviroment (food types etc) may have added to their IBS, as well as other things
-Mike
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I know my mom used to have a lot trouble when I was really young. She had a very stresfult job then. She said it always felt like she had a spastic colon. Sometimes she could barely make it home from my Uncle restaraunt, which was literally a few blocks from our house. I know my dad has always had a "nervous stomach". His really flares up when he's worried and/or stressed. His mother had diverticulitis and diverticulosis. Her sister always had spells where she have D and vomit when she got to stressed out. My sister has always had problems with C and I think she may have IBS-C. I know that most of my dad's brothers have "nervous stomachs". I know a couple of my mom's siblings have had some "stomach issues" at certain points in their life.
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Laurie 
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt
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I'm adopted and always wonder if my parents have gastro. problems. I know my three siblings and one of them is my identical twin sister and none of them have gastro. problems.
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My mom has IBS and ulcerative colitis, her mom has polyps that are being watched, and her dad had colitis! It def. runs in my fam!
Ruchie
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Formerly known as Ruchie
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I forgot to add my Mom's sister has polyps and her brother had Colon Cancer. (These two are what actually made think I better get checked out, just in case.)
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Laurie
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt
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MikeC,
Environment can DEF effect IBS...it doesn't sound weird at all! In Heather's book Eating For IBS she mentions that New England's humidity in the summer were killer!
Ruchie
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Formerly known as Ruchie
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If you logically think about it, everything has to be hereditary. Where else would you get the genetic makeup that lives within you? I believe though that you can prevent, or delay things like IBS if you know your parents have problems and you begin from an early age to eat correctly. My bet is that if I hadn't eaten 10 Oreo or Choclate Chip cookes for breakfast or a 2 pieces of cake (you get the idea), I may not be in this situation right now.........lol.
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Aye Ruchie, indeed it seems.
There are three ladies that grew up in the house. (Mother, and 2 daughters) All share allergies to the same food (or types of food) and the two daughters share IBS along with migraines. (Father suffers from Migraines as well)
Seems we may be products of our environment eh
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Thanks to everyone for the info & input, I was beginning to think mine was the only family with so many "problems"! I'd like to try to keep my 2 kids (boy 10, girl 7) from developing IBS, but not sure if that is possible?!
 Leah
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Leah
"Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul"
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There is a lot of information on IBS and kids very much worth reading in the new free unc digest, just fyi and you can get it here.
http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/digest.htm
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My website on IBS is www.ibshealth.com
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lea i dont think ibs is hereditary yet. im the only person in my familly has it.my wife thinks she has ibs to but not sure. her symptems are different. hope for every ibs person to cope
with this problem its not easy. jasper
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ive had ibs for 8 years now. im learning alot on this web board. thanks again everyone
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I as well do not have any family affected by IBS, Except the doctors think my Aunt has it, but she has a vast array of other problems as well that could possibly be the cause. I am the only one with tummy problems. In my opinion, IBS could be multifactorial, one or a number of genes may make one susceptible to IBS in association with another trigger from the environment (such as stress, long term exposure to a certain item/food) but who knows for sure, I certainly don't! Unfortunately it takes years to get results from studies of diseases/conditions, especially with everyone living in different environments! Hopefully an explanation will arise soon so less people will suffer...
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