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There are certain factors that can put you more at risk for getting IBS. There is a little bit of a genetic role. It does run in families to some degree, although it’s not predictable as to how much. Beyond that, it can be triggered by a number of things, mainly inflammatory conditions. So if you have an infection in your intestine, or if you’re somebody who has another disease like pancreatitis or inflammatory bowel disease that causes chronic pain or chronic inflammation in your body, this can cause you to be a little more vulnerable to having IBS. Alterations to the gut microbiome can also appear to be linked. We’re still not entirely sure how that connects, but there are definitely strong connections and we can see certain patterns in people with IBS. In addition, you can have things like gluten intolerance. Many people who think they have IBS find out they might actually have celiac, and for a lot of people, there actually is a gluten intolerance where gluten can lead to the barrier of the intestine not working as well. Lastly, emotional stress, anxiety and depression can also be triggers. When you have those things, often signals that might be just a little annoying or a little bit weird can turn into a sensation of pain.
