Background: The association and interaction between SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has not been adequately explored. We sought to determine whether a mechanistic relationship exists and whether vaccination against COVID-19 plays a role in this relationship. Methods: Using the Veterans Affairs (VA) electronic healthcare database, we obtained a random sample of veterans in October 2022 for this cross-sectional study. Demographic characteristics of the participants (e.g., age, sex, race), prior COVID infection, COVID vaccination status, and IBS diagnosis were extracted from the VA medical records. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine potential associations between the listed factors and IBS diagnosis. Results: A total of 9,112 veterans were analyzed. In univariate analysis, race, COVID infection, and vaccination were significantly associated with IBS. In multivariate regression analysis, only the effects of COVID infection and vaccination were statistically significant. The odds ratios for development of IBS among veterans with COVID infection versus those without was 1.94 (95% CI: 1.53-2.45), and for vaccinated versus unvaccinated, was 1.49 (95% CI: 1.18-1.89). Further analysis showed that vaccinated veterans who did not contract COVID infection had a lower risk of developing IBS compared to unvaccinated veterans who contracted COVID. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that veterans with COVID infection are almost twice as likely to develop IBS compared to those who have never had COVID infection. Vaccinated veterans have a lower risk of contracting COVID and subsequently, a diminished chance of developing IBS. Overall, vaccination of veterans with protection against COVID diminishes the risk of IBS development.
Published in | International Journal of Gastroenterology (Volume 8, Issue 2) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ijg.20240802.14 |
Page(s) | 76-84 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Coronavirus Infection, COVID, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, IBS, Vaccination
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APA Style
Parsi, A. O., Verne, G. N., Jiang, Y., Theus, S. A., Sullivan, J., et al. (2024). SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Vaccination, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Veterans: A Cross-Sectional Study. International Journal of Gastroenterology, 8(2), 76-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijg.20240802.14
ACS Style
Parsi, A. O.; Verne, G. N.; Jiang, Y.; Theus, S. A.; Sullivan, J., et al. SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Vaccination, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Veterans: A Cross-Sectional Study. Int. J. Gastroenterol. 2024, 8(2), 76-84. doi: 10.11648/j.ijg.20240802.14
AMA Style
Parsi AO, Verne GN, Jiang Y, Theus SA, Sullivan J, et al. SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Vaccination, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Veterans: A Cross-Sectional Study. Int J Gastroenterol. 2024;8(2):76-84. doi: 10.11648/j.ijg.20240802.14
@article{10.11648/j.ijg.20240802.14, author = {Arash Oliver Parsi and George Nicholas Verne and Yu Jiang and Sue Ann Theus and Josh Sullivan and Qiqi Zhou}, title = {SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Vaccination, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Veterans: A Cross-Sectional Study }, journal = {International Journal of Gastroenterology}, volume = {8}, number = {2}, pages = {76-84}, doi = {10.11648/j.ijg.20240802.14}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijg.20240802.14}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijg.20240802.14}, abstract = {Background: The association and interaction between SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has not been adequately explored. We sought to determine whether a mechanistic relationship exists and whether vaccination against COVID-19 plays a role in this relationship. Methods: Using the Veterans Affairs (VA) electronic healthcare database, we obtained a random sample of veterans in October 2022 for this cross-sectional study. Demographic characteristics of the participants (e.g., age, sex, race), prior COVID infection, COVID vaccination status, and IBS diagnosis were extracted from the VA medical records. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine potential associations between the listed factors and IBS diagnosis. Results: A total of 9,112 veterans were analyzed. In univariate analysis, race, COVID infection, and vaccination were significantly associated with IBS. In multivariate regression analysis, only the effects of COVID infection and vaccination were statistically significant. The odds ratios for development of IBS among veterans with COVID infection versus those without was 1.94 (95% CI: 1.53-2.45), and for vaccinated versus unvaccinated, was 1.49 (95% CI: 1.18-1.89). Further analysis showed that vaccinated veterans who did not contract COVID infection had a lower risk of developing IBS compared to unvaccinated veterans who contracted COVID. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that veterans with COVID infection are almost twice as likely to develop IBS compared to those who have never had COVID infection. Vaccinated veterans have a lower risk of contracting COVID and subsequently, a diminished chance of developing IBS. Overall, vaccination of veterans with protection against COVID diminishes the risk of IBS development. }, year = {2024} }
TY - JOUR T1 - SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Vaccination, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Veterans: A Cross-Sectional Study AU - Arash Oliver Parsi AU - George Nicholas Verne AU - Yu Jiang AU - Sue Ann Theus AU - Josh Sullivan AU - Qiqi Zhou Y1 - 2024/11/29 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijg.20240802.14 DO - 10.11648/j.ijg.20240802.14 T2 - International Journal of Gastroenterology JF - International Journal of Gastroenterology JO - International Journal of Gastroenterology SP - 76 EP - 84 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2640-169X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijg.20240802.14 AB - Background: The association and interaction between SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has not been adequately explored. We sought to determine whether a mechanistic relationship exists and whether vaccination against COVID-19 plays a role in this relationship. Methods: Using the Veterans Affairs (VA) electronic healthcare database, we obtained a random sample of veterans in October 2022 for this cross-sectional study. Demographic characteristics of the participants (e.g., age, sex, race), prior COVID infection, COVID vaccination status, and IBS diagnosis were extracted from the VA medical records. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine potential associations between the listed factors and IBS diagnosis. Results: A total of 9,112 veterans were analyzed. In univariate analysis, race, COVID infection, and vaccination were significantly associated with IBS. In multivariate regression analysis, only the effects of COVID infection and vaccination were statistically significant. The odds ratios for development of IBS among veterans with COVID infection versus those without was 1.94 (95% CI: 1.53-2.45), and for vaccinated versus unvaccinated, was 1.49 (95% CI: 1.18-1.89). Further analysis showed that vaccinated veterans who did not contract COVID infection had a lower risk of developing IBS compared to unvaccinated veterans who contracted COVID. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that veterans with COVID infection are almost twice as likely to develop IBS compared to those who have never had COVID infection. Vaccinated veterans have a lower risk of contracting COVID and subsequently, a diminished chance of developing IBS. Overall, vaccination of veterans with protection against COVID diminishes the risk of IBS development. VL - 8 IS - 2 ER -