The Association Between Personality Traits and Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Insights From an Exploratory Cohort Study

Background: Evidence suggests psychological factors including personality traits can have impact on the development and course of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and associated health-related quality of life (HrQoL), with large individual heterogeneity. Main aim of this study was to examine between-persons associations and within-sample concurrent associations of the personality traits neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness and agreeableness with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, psychological factors and HrQoL in IBS-patients. Methods: Cross-sectional data from an observational IBS-study (n = 194, mean age 51.36 years, 74.4% female) was used. Patients completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI)-44 questionnaire regarding personality traits, and questionnaires on symptom severity (GSRS-IBS), general anxiety (HADS-A, GAD-7), GI-specific anxiety (VSI), and HrQoL (36-SF). A multivariable regression model and a network correlation analysis were performed. Key Results: Neuroticism showed the most relevant between-persons associations, confirmed by within-sample concurrent associations: associated with increased GI-specific anxiety (B 7.234, p = 0.040), general anxiety (B 0.954, p = 0.040), and decreased mental HrQoL (B-3.576, p = 0.007). Extraversion showed an opposing pattern including increased mental HrQoL (B = 4.266, p = 0.001), with strong association to neuroticism. While no significant between-person associations emerged between abdominal pain and personality traits, significantly associated to higher general anxiety (B = 6.304, p < 0.001) and GI-specific anxiety (B = 0.034, p < 0.001) were shown. Conclusion: This study reinforces the association between personality traits and IBS, highlighting the integral connection to not only other psychological factors but also GI-symptoms. These findings support a multifactorial, personalized approach to IBS, advocating for the integration of personality assessment-particularly neuroticism and extraversion-into the biopsychosocial model.