MONDAY, July 1, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on Americans’ guts, researchers report.
Gut disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study says.
Rates of IBS nearly doubled among U.S. adults, rising from around 6% in May 2020 to about 11% in May 2022, results show.
Other gut health problems like constipation also increased, researchers report in the journal Neurogastroenterology & Motility.
“Rates of digestive issues such as irritable bowel syndrome and chronic idiopathic constipation rose significantly,” lead researcher Dr. Christopher Almario, a gastroenterologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said in a news release.
“These findings underscore the significant toll the pandemic has taken on digestive health,” Almario added.
Conditions like IBS and chronic constipation are driven by complex interactions between the gut and the nervous system, researchers said in background notes.
“These disorders involve chronic gastrointestinal symptoms that are often triggered or worsened by psychological stress,” Almario said.
Researchers figured that more people might have developed a gut health disorder during the pandemic, from the effect of COVID infection on the digestive system as well as the stress from social distancing, isolation and fear of infection.
For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 160,000 U.S. adults who participated in a national online survey from May 2020 to May 2022. Participants completed questionnaires covering digestive symptoms, mental health and lifestyle changes.
People with IBS most commonly reported suffering from mixed IBS, a type where the patient has both diarrhea and constipation, results show.
“This research calls for a renewed focus on gastrointestinal health in the post-pandemic era,” senior researcher Dr. Brennan Spiegel, director of health services research for Cedars-Sinai, said in a news release.
More information
The Cleveland Clinic has more on irritable bowel syndrome.
SOURCE: Cedars-Sinai, news release, June 27, 2025