Alexithymia impairs quality of life in irritable bowel syndrome.

Aim: Our objectives were to compare the frequency of alexithymia and the alteration of quality of life in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and to determine the factors associated with alexithymia and quality of life deterioration.

Method: This is a comparative study which collected 80 IBS patients and 80 controls.

Results: Quality of life was impaired in 75% of patients vs 37.