Personality, Anxiety, and Stress in Patients with Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth Syndrome. The Polish Preliminary Study

Abstract

Objective: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) syndrome is associated with depression and anxiety. This study aimed to examine for the first time the correlation between personality traits, situational anxiety, and stress in Polish patients with SIBO. Methodology: This study included 26 patients with SIBO aged 20–35 years and 24 non-SIBO patients aged 20–35 years. The following instruments were used: NEO-FFI Personality Inventory, KPS Sense of Stress Questionnaire, and the anxiety-state subscale from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results: Compared to the non-SIBO subgroup, SIBO patients expressed specific patterns of personality traits: higher neuroticism, lower extroversion, and a higher state of anxiety and stress. Unlike the non-SIBO subgroup, stress (total emotional tension, external, and intrapsychic) correlated negatively only with extroversion. Conclusions: Personality is the primary regulator of experience and behavior. The specificity captured in the research is a premise for an in-depth study considering various psychological variables to determine cause-effect relationships.