Risk of irritable bowel syndrome in patients who underwent appendectomy: A nationwide population-based cohort study

Appendectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures; however, the possible long-term consequences have not been fully explored. The appendix has been associated with microflora of the gut and immune functions. However, literature examining the relationship between prior appendectomy and the risk of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of irritable bowel syndrome for patients who underwent appendectomy by using a nationwide longitudinal population-based cohort.

Data from this study was collected from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), a population-based database. We identified 12,760 patients who underwent appendectomy between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2012. A total of 9236 patients who had appendectomy (case group) were randomly matched with 9236 patients who had not undergone appendectomy (control group) in a ratio of 1:1 by means of propensity scores. The hazard ratio (HR) of IBS was calculated by multiple Cox regression. Furthermore, sensitivity test and stratified analysis were performed.

The incidence rate of IBS was 51.30 per 10,000 person-years in patients having appendectomy, more than the 35.28 per 10,000 person-years in patients not having appendectomy. Patients who underwent appendectomy had 1.46-fold risk of IBS compared to patients not having appendectomy (HR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.24-1.72). Stratified analysis revealed that the higher HR of 1.55 (95% CI, 1.18-2.04) in patients <40 years old, and particularly within the first 5 years follow-up period of undergoing appendectomy. In addition, patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia had a greater risk of suffering IBS after appendectomy (HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.04-1.92).

Patients with appendectomy have a higher incidental risk of IBS than the control population. The risk is higher for patients under 40 years old and those who received appendectomy within 5 years. Physicians could take this into consideration for treatment plans of patients who have underwent this surgery. Further research on the pathogenesis of this association is required.

This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan (MOHW108-TDU-B-212-133004), China Medical University Hospital, Academia Sinica Stroke Biosignature Project (BM10701010021), MOST Clinical Trial Consortium for Stroke (MOST 108-2321-B-039-003-), Tseng-Lien Lin Foundation, Taichung, Taiwan, and Katsuzo and Kiyo Aoshima Memorial Funds, Japan.