Women With IBS May Show 1 Symptom Men Don't

One paper suggests the gendered difference.
Woman looking uncomfortable
Matteo Vistocco via Unsplash
Woman looking uncomfortable

Did you know that heart attack symptoms can look different for women than men? Per the Heart Research Institute UK: “Women often describe heart attack pain as pressure or tightness in the chest, and not the severe pain often felt by men.”

Similarly, stroke symptoms can be “subtler” for women, with symptoms that may start with overall aches rather than pain on one side, and higher instances of vomiting, hiccups and sudden fatigue.

So perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised to read that a 2012 paper found a gendered difference between men and women when it comes to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), too.

How might women show IBS symptoms differently from men?

According to the researchers, who say the condition is “significantly more prevalent in women” to begin with, most of the signs are remarkably similar across sexes.

But women with IBS were far more likely than men with the condition (49% vs 18.2%) to list feeling sick as a symptom.

“The only differently observed symptom was nausea which was significantly more prevalent in females,” the researchers said, having studied 144 IBS patients (roughly 30% of whom were men, and nearly 70% of whom were women).

Additionally, the study says that diarrhoea-type IBS was the most common subtype among men (38.6%), while women were most likely to have constipation-style IBS (38%).

What are the general signs of IBS?

According to the NHS, the typical symptoms signs of IBS are:

  • stomach pain or cramps – usually worse after eating and better after doing a poo
  • bloating – your tummy may feel uncomfortably full and swollen
  • diarrhoea – you may have watery poo and sometimes need to poo suddenly
  • constipation – you may strain when pooing and feel like you cannot empty your bowels fully.

See your doctor if you suspect you have the condition, as they can help you find ways to manage it.

Close