# Is there a link between Irritable Bowel Syndrome and left-handedness?: An exploratory



## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Integr Physiol Behav Sci. 2005 Jan-Mar;40(1):55-9. Is there a link between Irritable Bowel Syndrome and left-handedness?: An exploratory study.Dancey CP, Attree EA, Bardos G, Kovacs A.School of Psychology, University of East London, Stratford, UK. c.p.dancey###uel.ac.ukRecent research has found that people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and those with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) show a relative deficit in verbal IQ, compared to their own performance IQ, and the IQ of a healthy comparison group. It has been suggested that the elevated prevalence of left-handedness shown in previous studies investigating people with IBD is due to compromised left-hemisphere development. This may be associated with a decrement in certain cognitive functions such as verbal IQ. A shift in brain dominance from left to right has been found in many atopic and immunological diseases as well as in autonomic dysfunctions. It was uncertain whether this would apply to people with IBS, a functional disorder in which the cause or causes remain unclear. Therefore, the aim of this preliminary study was to investigate whether people with IBS have an increased prevalence of left-handedness. It was found that there was an association between IBS and left-handedness, showing that further research on this association both in IBS and other functional disorders (as well as on the similarities between IBS and IBD) is warranted.


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## Lizzy669 (Mar 7, 2006)

So what would that mean? That I've got IBS because I'm left-handed?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

No. that there may be something that tends to cause people to be left-handed might also make them more likely to get IBS.Something further back that they share. Not that you do things with your left hand that gave you IBS.I found this and posted because people on the board were doing a survey of handedness and IBS.FWIW. I'm right-handed.K.


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## SteveE (Jan 7, 1999)

Somehow lefthandedness always seems to get the blame for things. So far, every study that's tried to make it out to be some sort of defect has been shown to have about as much validity as unicorns and mermaids. I have no doubt that this will be shown to be equally ridiculous. I am very much righthanded, by the way.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

FYIWhat Makes a Lefty: Myths and Mysteries Persist http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060322/sc_...ysteriespersist


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## 23392 (Jan 31, 2006)

Huh. I'm ambidextrous [play ping-pong with the left, badminton with the right, racquetball left, my sword hand is my left for fencing or anything else], have true [but very well-adapted] mixed brain dominance, and a verbal score off the charts...Someone's gotta make that bell curve. I'd wonder more about people trying to force themselves to be right-handed, who are actully left-handed, having IBS...but what do I know? What's interesting to me is that people are strongly 1-footed [which foot do you prefer to step on or off a curb with?] and frequently 1-hipped [ask any Latin dancer!], and that never gets looked at...


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## 22144 (Aug 6, 2005)

Spurious relationship, IMO


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## Guest (Nov 1, 2006)

i write lefty, drive lefty, bat and throw left, cut w/sissors w/right hand though


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