Stress profile, coping style, anxiety, depression, and gastric emptying as predictors of functional dyspepsia: A case-control study

Objective

To determine whether gastric emptying, stomach peristaltic frequencies, stress profile, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and salivary cortisol levels could predict functional dyspepsia (FD).

Methods

Magnetogastrography (MGG) was used to measure gastric emptying time and the gastric peristaltic frequencies in 15 patients with FD diagnosis and in 17 healthy volunteers. In all the participants, stress profile, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were evaluated by means of standardized questionnaires, and morning salivary samples were collected for the measurement of cortisol levels. A univariate logistic regression model was used to examine the probability of the measured variables to predict the presence of FD.

Results

The univariate logistic regression model showed that the half-time of gastric emptying (OR=1.16 P=.01); the subscale of stress items (OR=1.08, P=.003); negative appraisal of subscale coping strategies (OR=1.03, P=0.007); anxiety (OR=1.05, P=.01); and depression (OR=1.23, P=.02) had a significant predictive value for the presence of FD. However, by applying the stricter multiple comparison criterions, only stress, negative appraisal, and anxiety arose as predictors of FD. The FD patients compared with healthy volunteers showed significantly elevated half-time of gastric empting (P<.0006), high scores in the subscales of stress (P<.000003), in behavior type “A” (P<.04), in coping styles (P<.008), in depression (P<.0004), and in anxiety (P<.0002).

Conclusions

These findings indicate that psychosocial stress, mood symptoms, and coping style are predictors of FD. The stress shows high sensibility and specificity in the patients with FD, indicating a contribution in the etiopathogenesis of dyspepsia.