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Prevalence of attention deficit disorder, residual type, and other psychiatric disorders in patients with irritable colon syndrome

Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.140.12.1579

On the basis of the observations that chronic nonspecific diarrhea is a precursor of irritable colon syndrome and that chronic nonspecific diarrhea is associated with attention deficit disorder in childhood, the authors conducted a psychiatric diagnostic evaluation of 22 adults with irritable colon syndrome. Six (27%) of the patients received a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder, residual type, six (27%) were diagnosed as having dysthymic disorder, and five (23%) had had episodes of unipolar depression. The relationship between the presence of these disorders and greater severity of irritable colon syndrome was statistically significant.

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