The Associations of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms with Risk and Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Although several risk single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been found to play an important role in etiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the findings are inconsistent. A descriptive correlational design was used to analyze the baseline data of a randomized controlled trial including participants with IBS and healthy controls (HC). Pain severity and interference, anxiety, sleep, and fatigue were measured using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and patient-reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS). Fisher's exact test and multivariate linear regression were used to investigate the associations between IBS risk alleles and IBS symptoms. Participants were predominantly female, white, and had an average age of 21.13 ± 2.42 years. Polymorphisms within (rs4263839), 5-HTTLPR, (rs1062613), and (rs2254298) were associated with IBS risk, and (rs4263839), (rs6269), 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms were associated with pain severity. (rs4263839) and (rs4680; rs4633) genotypes were associated with sleep disturbance, and the SNP rs1556832 was associated with fatigue in both IBS and HC groups. Genotypic differences were associated with IBS risk and symptoms including abdominal pain, sleep disturbance, and fatigue. Further investigation is warranted to reveal the mechanisms by which these genetic variations influence the dynamic nature of IBS symptoms over time.