Anxiety and the gastrointestinal system

There is a growing recognition that a link exists between anxiety and the gastrointestinal tract. This is evident in studies examining the effects of stress on gastrointestinal function and also in studies assessing psychopathology in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders which demonstrate a high prevalence of anxiety disorders and depression in these individuals. The recent conceptualization of anxiety as resulting from dysfunction in separable subsystems of the brain as well as experimental evidence linking the brain with the GI tract may allow for testing hypotheses that the high prevalence of anxiety in patients with functional GI disorders may be due to common or interacting pathophysiology. The similarity between the ENS and the CNS may also be a plausible explanation for this association. The high prevalence of anxiety disorders in functional GI patients suggests that medications useful in the treatment of anxiety disorders (anxiolytics and antidepressants) may be useful in the treatment of functional GI disorders especially refractory cases, but further treatment studies are needed.