People who have a first degree relative (a parent or sibling) with bowel problems are more than twice as likely to have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and stomach acid problems, according to a new study in the September issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

In the study 650 people were surveyed, with 12% having been diagnosed with IBS and 14% with stomach acid problems. Family connections to IBS were strongest among the 24% of people who reported a first-degree relative with bowel problems. G. Richard Locke III, MD, who is a consultant in the division of gastroenterology and department of internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, was surprised to find a family link to IBS as well as other bowel problems.

There is evidence for both circumstantial and genetic causes of IBS, according to co-director for Functional GI and Motility Disorders at the University of North Carolina, William E. Whitehead, PhD. He goes on to say that if a genetic link to IBS is found, a diagnosis of IBS can be made more quickly and easily.