Comorbidity of gastrointestinal complaints, depression, and anxiety in the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Study.

The purpose of this investigation is to determine if the high prevalence rates of major depression, panic disorder, and agoraphobia found in tertiary-care studies of irritable bowel syndrome and medically unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms are also found in the general population. Structured psychiatric interviews on 18,571 subjects from the NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Study were reviewed for prevalence of gastrointestinal distress symptoms and selected psychiatric disorders. Medically unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms had a high prevalence in the general population (6-25%).