DUBLIN — Eight out ten people admit to breaking wind every day and the flatulence is “associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress,” going by a new survey.
Other face-reddening “gas-related symptoms,” such as stomach-rumbling and belching, were reported by more than half of the nearly 6,000 people surveyed in Britain, Mexico and the US.
Only 48 per cent of those canvassed said they had bad breath, with around the same as the percentage saying they suffered from trapped wind. Only 11 per cent reported having no gas-related symptoms at all.
The researchers also sought interviewees’ responses on body mass index, exercise, “emotional well-being” and quality of life.
According to lead author Olafur Palsson of the University of North Carolina’s Department of Medicine, the findings suggest that “having a high amount of these common intestinal symptoms is associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress, as well as impaired general quality of life.”
“The data also clearly reveals that these symptoms affect people’s general wellbeing,” he said.
The survey is to be presented at UEG Week, an October 3-5 conference in Vienna run by United European Gastroenterology, a “professional non-profit organisation combining all the leading European medical specialist and national societies focusing on digestive health.”
