[Stress and the digestive system]

Functional disorders mainly occur in young, anxious hyperactive, sometimes obsessional patients and involve all parts of digestive tract: feeling of obstruction the upper oesophagus or dysphagia; aerophagia related to a slow gastric emptying or gastric fullness relieved by eructation; biliary vomiting and pain in right abdominal upper quadrant which might correspond to a form of migraine without headache; irritable bowel, characterized by abdominal discomfort and constipation. Obviously, the diagnosis of functional disorders required elimination of an organic disease by appropriate endoscopic investigations. Psychosomatic disorders mainly comprise gastroduodenal ulcers and inflammatory bowel diseases. Although psychologic profiles have been associated with gastro-duodenal ulcer, these are not necessary for the development of the disease. The role of emotional factors has decreased since very efficient anti-secretory drugs are available. Inflammatory bowel diseases, in particular ulcerative colitis is frequently associated to behaviour disorders. The patient is usually a young woman brought up by an overprotective family. It is generally recognized that attacks of ulcerative colitis may be triggered by emotional factors. Thus, Stress may interact with digestive tract. In some cases, as in patients with irritable bowel or distal ulcerative colitis, psychotherapy such as Schultz's Autogenous Training, improves the patient's condition.