Overview
- IBS symptoms interfere with work or school for nearly 11 days and personal activities for eight days each month.
- Patients report missing 3.6 work or school days per month in 2024 versus 2.1 days in 2015, and 58% say their condition cuts into time with family and friends.
- Less than one in three patients can accurately predict symptom onset, with 77% avoiding situations where bathroom access is limited and 72% staying home more often.
- Over-the-counter remedies and lifestyle adjustments remain the primary management strategies despite a growing array of FDA-approved prescription options.
- Although 78% of patients are generally satisfied with current treatments, only about one in five report being very satisfied and 76% still find symptom management somewhat or very difficult.