Long-Term Impact of COVID-19 on Disorders of Gut–Brain Interaction: Incidence, Symptom Burden, and Psychological Comorbidities 2025 Hod et al

ABSTRACT

Background
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has highlighted the potential exacerbation of gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs). However, the distinct symptom trajectories and psychological burden in patients with post-COVID-19 DGBIs compared with patients with pre-existing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)/functional dyspepsia (FD) and non-DGBI controls remain poorly understood.

Objectives
To examine the long-term gastrointestinal symptom progression and psychological comorbidities in patients with post-COVID-19 DGBI, patients with pre-existing IBS/FD and non-DGBI controls.

Methods
This post hoc analysis of a prospective multicenter cohort study reviewed patient charts for demographic data and medical history. Participants completed the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale at four time points: baseline, 1, 6, and 12 months, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale at 6 and 12 months. The cohort was divided into three groups: (1) post-COVID-19 DGBIs (2) non-DGBI, and (3) pre-existing IBS/FD, with the post-COVID-19 DGBIs group compared to the latter two control groups.

Results
Among 599 eligible patients, 27 (4.5%) were identified as post-COVID-19 DGBI. This group experienced worsening abdominal pain, hunger pain, heartburn, and acid regurgitation, unlike symptom improvement or stability in non-DGBI controls (p < 0.001 for all symptoms, except hunger pain, p = 0.001). While patients with pre-existing IBS/FD improved in most gastrointestinal symptoms but worsened in constipation and incomplete evacuation, patients with post-COVID-19 DGBI exhibited consistent symptom deterioration across multiple gastrointestinal domains. Anxiety and depression remained unchanged in patients with post-COVID-19 DGBI, contrasting with significant reductions in controls (non-DGBI: p = 0.003 and p = 0.057; pre-existing IBS/FD: p = 0.019 and p = 0.007, respectively).

Conclusions
COVID-19 infection is associated with the development of newly diagnosed DGBIs and distinct symptom trajectories when compared with patients with pre-existing IBS/FD. Patients with post-COVID-19 DGBI experience progressive gastrointestinal symptom deterioration and persistent psychological distress, underscoring the need for tailored management strategies for this unique subgroup.

Open access

 

Maybe someone should decide to de-fund all projects including the words gut-brain interaction.

 

68 authors!

 

Someone must have had fun making the graphical abstract. Less is apparently not more.

 

It's really impressive how everyone seems to have accepted this labeling of "gut-brain interaction" as if it means something, even when talking about the impact of infectious diseases, where it doesn't even make any sense. Total button soup stuff.

Frankly this is all explaining so much about conspiracy fantasies and things like QAnon, how people swallow and start parroting weird bullshit without even really making sense of what the words even mean. Unfortunately all of this is going to waste because the people who would normally study this have fallen deep in the rabbit hole and only care about mirrors that tell them they are the prettiest in the land, never bothering with the ones that show any reflection back.

 

68 authors for this has a very strong "it took 200 strong muscular men to dig this 3 foot hole" vibe.

 

Giovanni Marasco: supervised, designed the study, collected and interpreted data, and drafted the manuscript. Keren Hod: designed the study, collected and interpreted data, performed statistical analysis, and drafted the manuscript. Giovanni Barbara: supervised, critically revised and approved the final version of the draft. All authors collected data for the study and critically revised and approved the version of the manuscript.

 

Seems to be the behaviour of a paper mill adding as many names of people who are willing to pay .

 

The same group has published this paper as well:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34751672/