Occupational and psychological characteristics across IBS status trajectories: a two-wave study of Japanese workers

Abstract Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is common among working-age adults and is associated with impaired work productivity. Although IBS symptoms fluctuate over time, little is known about how changes in status are related to occupational and psychological functioning. This study aimed to characterize occupational and psychological differences across IBS status trajectories over 1 year. Main body A two-wave online survey was conducted in Japan: Time 1in 2023 and Time 2 in 2024. Workers aged 20–49 years ( N = 442) completed measures assessing IBS severity (IBSSI), IBS-related cognitive (CS‑FBD) and behavioral (IBS‑BRQ) factors, depressive (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD‑7) symptoms, somatic burden (SSS‑8), occupational stress factors, and work productivity (WPAI-GH). IBS status was assessed using the Rome IV Diagnostic Questionnaire, and participants were classified as Consistent Non-IBS, Incident IBS, Resolved IBS, and Consistent IBS. Two-way repeated-measures ANOVA (group × time) was conducted ( p < 0.05). Significant group-by-time interactions were observed for the IBSSI and SSS‑8. The Consistent Non-IBS group showed the lowest symptom severity at both time points, and only the Resolved IBS group showed significant improvement. For occupational stress, supervisor support declined across all groups, whereas coworker support declined in all groups except for the Resolved IBS group. Significant main effects of group were observed for the CS-FBD, IBS-BRQ, PHQ-9, GAD-7, and the WPAI-GH subscales but not for work time missed, with the Consistent Non-IBS group generally showing the lowest levels of impairment. Conclusions IBS status trajectories did not uniformly correspond to broad psychosocial changes across measures. Significant group-by-time interactions were observed for supervisor support and co-worker support, although the observed effects were small. Given the descriptive nature of this study and the small effect sizes, these findings should be considered descriptive, hypothesis-generating observations that remain to be confirmed through larger longitudinal studies. Moreover, future studies that incorporate the recently introduced Rome V criteria may help improve our understanding of IBS transitions and provide a foundation for exploring potential workplace support strategies.