What Happens
Symptoms of
(IBS) may persist for a long
time, but IBS does not cause cancer or shorten life expectancy.
The pattern of IBS varies from one person to the next and from one bout
to the next. Some people have symptoms off and on for many years. You may go
months or years without having any symptoms. However, most people have
recurrent episodes of symptoms. It is rare for a person to have symptoms
constantly.
As people get older, their symptoms of IBS tend to
get better. And over time about 3 out of 10 people will stop having any
symptoms at all.4
Although IBS does not
cause more serious conditions, such as cancer or
, a person who has IBS may
also have one of these illnesses.