The burden of irritable bowel syndrome and chronic constipation on health-related quality of life in black Africans: a comparison with healthy control subjects in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa.

Although patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic constipation (CC) have an impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL), little is known in black African patients compared with control subjects. This study provided the magnitude and the influencing factors of HRQoL impairment in black African outpatients with IBS or CC compared with control subjects using the generic SF-36 questionnaire. One hundred and four consecutive black African outpatients complaining with IBS (n=72, mean age=38.