Hausteiner-Wiehle, Constanze, Henningsen, Peter · World journal of gastroenterology · 2014 · DOI
This review looked at how irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) relates to other conditions like ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, as well as depression and anxiety. The authors found that IBS often occurs alongside these other conditions and that about half of IBS patients have no mental health symptoms, while the other half do. They suggest that doctors should treat IBS as a complex condition that affects multiple body systems and the mind, rather than separating physical symptoms from mental ones.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS patients because it demonstrates that functional somatic syndromes like IBS and ME/CFS share significant conceptual and clinical overlap, including symptom overlap and psychiatric comorbidities. Understanding these relationships may improve recognition of multisystem symptoms in ME/CFS and support integrated care approaches that address both physical and mental health symptoms. The proposed 'interface disorders' framework could reshape how clinicians approach ME/CFS diagnosis and treatment.
This review does not prove that mental health symptoms cause IBS or other functional somatic syndromes, nor does it establish the biological mechanisms linking these conditions. The study does not provide new experimental data or establish causation—it synthesizes existing literature, which may include studies with varying quality and definitions. It also does not determine whether ME/CFS and IBS are truly separate conditions or manifestations of a single underlying process.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Hausteiner-Wiehle, Constanze & Henningsen, Peter (2014). Irritable bowel syndrome: relations with functional, mental, and somatoform disorders.. World journal of gastroenterology. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v20.i20.6024
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hausteiner-wiehle-2014-irritable-bowel,
author = {Hausteiner-Wiehle, Constanze and Henningsen, Peter},
title = {Irritable bowel syndrome: relations with functional, mental, and somatoform disorders.},
journal = {World journal of gastroenterology},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.3748/wjg.v20.i20.6024},
note = {PubMed: 24876725},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hausteiner-wiehle-2014-irritable-bowel},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hausteiner-wiehle-2014-irritable-bowel
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