The Invisible Link Between Mind and Gut: The Effect of Alexithymia and Adjustment to Illness on Symptom Severity in <scp>IBS</scp> Patients With Rome <scp>IV</scp> Criteria
Bibliographic record
Abstract
ABSTRACT Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gut‐brain interaction disorder that significantly impacts quality of life, with symptoms influenced by stress, anxiety, dietary habits, and gut microbiota imbalances. Alexithymia, characterized by difficulties in identifying and expressing emotions, may exacerbate IBS symptoms by impairing stress management and illness perception. Additionally, poor adaptation to chronic illness can increase psychological burden and worsen symptom severity. Methods This cross‐sectional study examined 148 IBS patients diagnosed using Rome IV criteria at a gastroenterology outpatient clinic. Data were collected through validated scales, including the IBS Symptom Severity Score (IBS‐SSS), Twenty‐Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS‐20), and Chronic Disease Adaptation Assessment Scale (CDAAS). Correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify key predictors of symptom severity. Results IBS severity was notably high (mean IBS‐SSS = 380.1 ± 61.5), with low income ( B = 32.337, p = 0.002) and high alexithymia levels ( B = 0.991, p = 0.045) emerging as strong predictors of increased symptom burden. Marital status also showed a notable association ( B = 22.005, p = 0.085). While overall disease adaptation (CDAAS) was not directly linked to symptom severity, poor physiological adaptation correlated negatively with IBS symptoms, suggesting a critical role in disease perception. A significant inverse relationship was found between meal frequency and symptom severity ( r = −0.170, p = 0.039), highlighting the impact of dietary habits on symptom control. The regression model explained 14.9% of variance (adjusted R 2 = 0.081). Conclusion IBS symptom severity is partially influenced by socioeconomic status, emotional regulation, and dietary patterns. These findings underscore the need for a multidisciplinary treatment approach integrating dietary modifications, psychological interventions, and tailored patient support to enhance disease management and improve patient outcomes.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.003 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".