Is there a SERT-ain association with IBS?

Abstract

In this issue of Gut, Yeo and colleagues¹ report on the association between a functional polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene and diarrhoea predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) in women (see page 1452). In a study of 194 North American female participants with D-IBS in a clinical trial programme and 448 female controls, there was an association between the homozygous short genotype of SERT-P (serotonin reuptake transporter gene) and the D-IBS phenotype, with an odds ratio of 2.25 (95% confidence interval 1.51–3.31). The fact that the confidence interval does not cross the value of 1 suggests that the association is statistically significant, and the authors suggest that the SERT-P may be a candidate gene for D-IBS in women.