Development and validation of new disease-specific measures of somatization and comorbidity in IBS.

Objective: To create and validate empirically derived questionnaires that measure non-gastrointestinal symptoms and disorders that co-exist with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Methods: A systematic review of the world literature identified all non-GI symptoms and diagnoses known to have excess frequency in IBS patients. These data were used to create the Recent Physical Symptoms Questionnaire (RPSQ), which measures somatization (the psychological tendency to report multiple physical symptoms), and the Comorbid Medical Conditions Questionnaire (CMCQ).