ABSTRACT
Irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] is a disorder of the gastrointestinal system that presents with special gastrointestinal signs and lack of an organic etiology. Quality of life [QOL] is one of the most important outcomes of IBS. Several psychological factors are mentioned as effective in determining QOL in IBS patients. The goal of this study is to determined the relationship between illness perception and QOL in patients with IBS. This study enrolled 96 patients, 40 males[41.7%] and 56 females[58.3%] who referred to the gastroenterology clinics of Imam Khomeini and Laleh hospitals from September to December 2012 Tehran, Iran. Participants completed a Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire [Brief- IPQ] and an IBS-specific QOL [IBS-QOL-34] questionnaire. Information collected by the questionnaire were analyzed with Pearson'scorrelation and regression analysis. Results of the analysis performed by Pearson's correlation showed a significant association between patient's illness perception and QOL among those with IBS. Among the subscales of illness perception, the Consequence [p<0.01, r=0.63], Emotion [p<0.01, r=0.55], Concern [p<0.01,r=0.31], Timeline[p<0.01,r=0.30], and Identity [p<0.01,r=0.20] subscales showed the most significant correlation with QOL. There was no relation observed between Illness Comprehensibility, Treatment Control, and Personal Control subscales with QOL. Patient's illness perception seems to play a role in determining QOL among IBS suffers. Therefore psychological intervention based on the patient's illness perception is recommended for IBS patients