Yet, more than half do not seek medical care for bloating symptoms
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Dec. 9, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Nearly one in seven U.S. adults report experiencing bloating in the past week, according to a study published online Nov. 14 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Janice E. Oh, M.D., from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and colleagues examined the prevalence of bloating and assessed associated health care use. The analysis included survey responses from a nationally representative sample of 88,795 U.S. adults.
The researchers found that 13.9 percent of participants reported bloating in the previous seven days. Significantly higher odds of bloating were reported by women and those with comorbidities (e.g., irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation, ulcerative colitis) and concomitant gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g., abdominal pain, excess gas). Similar factors predicted more severe bloating. More than half of those who reported recent bloating (58.5 percent) never sought care for bloating, with 29 percent saying they were self-managing symptoms or felt uncomfortable discussing it with their providers.
“Although bloating is a common symptom, some patients may not bring it up with their doctors,” Oh said in a statement. “It’s important that people feel comfortable discussing bloating because it could be a symptom of a serious condition and there are treatments available.”
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