'Almost All' Adults Are Gassy And It Affects Their Quality Of Life: Survey

Nearly all adults experience gas-related intestinal symptoms, an international survey has found. These symptoms are linked to poorer quality of life and psychological issues.

Gas is found all throughout the digestive tract, from the stomach to the small intestine and the rectum. For instance, when people fart, which everybody experiences, the intestinal gas that has been built up in the body is released.

In a new study, which was presented at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week Virtual 2021 last week, the researchers found just how common such gas symptoms are and how they may be affecting people's well-being, the UEG noted in a press release.

The researchers conducted a survey among about 6,000 adults, aged 18 to 99 years old from the U.S., the U.K. and Mexico. The participants answered Intestinal Gas Questionnaires (IGQs) to determine the "presence and severity" of seven gas-related symptoms in the past 24 hours. The researchers also gathered other important information on the participants' body mass index (BMI), exercise, emotional well-being and quality of life in the past seven days, UEG noted.

Gas symptoms affecting adults

The majority of the participants reported they experienced gas symptoms as only 11.1% said they did not have them. Participants reported having, on average, three gas symptoms in the past 24 hours, with breaking wind or farting being the most common symptom.

This is followed by stomach rumbling, belching, bad breath, trapped wind, swollen tummy and bloating respectively. Among the gas symptoms, even the least reported one (bloating) affected 38.5% of the respondents, while breaking wind was reported by 81.3% or eight out of 10 adults.

The participants from Mexico had higher scores for all the seven gas symptoms, while those aged 18 to 34 and 35 to 49 also had the "highest overall burden" for the symptoms, UEG noted.

Mental health link

The results of the study show how such gas symptoms may actually be more common and affect people every day than some may think.

"I think the most remarkable and surprising finding in our study is that almost all adults in the general population experience some daily gas-related symptoms," lead author Olafur Palsson, of the University of North Carolina Department of Medicine, said in the UEG news release.

Interestingly, though the researchers did not find that BMI and weight were correlated with the participants' scores, they found a correlation between higher IGQ scores and lower mental health and quality of life scores.

"This is important given the data also clearly reveals that these symptoms affect people's general well-being," Palsson said. "Having a high amount of these common intestinal symptoms is associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress, as well as impaired general quality of life."