Show YAML
name: com_Hypermobile_Ehlers-Danlos_Syndrome__Irritable_Bowel_Syndrome
creation_date: '2026-09-18T02:40:05Z'
curation_status: CANDIDATE
notes: >-
Gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly reflux, dyspepsia, and irritable
bowel syndrome (IBS), are among the most consistently reported hEDS
comorbidities. A large propensity-matched cohort found IBS in 7.3% of
EDS patients versus matched controls (OR 2.6), and a non-patient
cross-sectional study of university students found the association between
EDS-hypermobility type and GI symptoms (particularly postprandial fullness
and early satiety) even outside a clinical/patient-selected population,
with the association dependent on autonomic dysfunction rather than pain
or psychopathology. Directionality is UNKNOWN. No ICEES KG signal exists
for this pair: hEDS (MONDO:0007523) is not a node in the ICEES KG snapshot
at all (confirmed while curating the hEDS-POTS comorbidity entry).
disease_a:
slug: Hypermobile_Ehlers-Danlos_Syndrome
preferred_term: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, hypermobility type
term:
id: MONDO:0007523
label: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, hypermobility type
disease_b:
slug: Irritable_Bowel_Syndrome
preferred_term: irritable bowel syndrome
term:
id: MONDO:0005052
label: irritable bowel syndrome
directionality: UNKNOWN
hypotheses:
- description: >-
Hypothesis: connective-tissue laxity in the bowel wall and its supporting
mesentery, combined with autonomic dysregulation of gut motility and
visceral sensitivity (part of the broader hEDS dysautonomia phenotype),
together produce the altered motility and visceral hypersensitivity
characteristic of IBS. A non-patient cross-sectional study found the
association between hypermobility and GI symptoms was statistically
dependent on autonomic symptom burden but independent of pain and
psychopathology, favoring an autonomic rather than purely psychological
mechanism.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27683076
reference_title: "The association between Ehlers-Danlos syndrome-hypermobility type and gastrointestinal symptoms in university students: a cross-sectional study."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: "The association between EDS-HT and postprandial symptoms was dependent on autonomic factors but independent of pain and psychopathology."
explanation: >-
A non-patient population study finds the GI-symptom association is
statistically mediated by autonomic dysfunction rather than by pain or
psychiatric comorbidity, supporting an autonomic/motility mechanism
over a purely central or psychosomatic one.
- reference: PMID:27683076
reference_title: "The association between Ehlers-Danlos syndrome-hypermobility type and gastrointestinal symptoms in university students: a cross-sectional study."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: "Patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome-hypermobility type (EDS-HT) have increased prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, particularly reflux and dyspepsia."
explanation: Establishes elevated GI symptom prevalence, including reflux and dyspepsia, as a recognized hEDS feature.
association_signals:
- source: LITERATURE
method: LITERATURE_ASSOCIATION
signal_disorder_a_id: MONDO:0007523
signal_disorder_b_id: MONDO:0005052
population: >-
TriNetX research network, retrospective propensity-matched analysis
(2005-2023), 59,128 matched pairs of EDS patients (excluding Marfan
syndrome) versus controls.
directionality: UNKNOWN
statistics:
metrics:
- metric_type: PREVALENCE
metric_value: 7.3
notes: IBS prevalence in the EDS cohort.
- metric_type: OR
metric_value: 2.6
metric_ci_lower: 2.5
metric_ci_upper: 2.8
p_value: 0.001
notes: Odds ratio for IBS in EDS versus propensity-matched controls. Reported by the source as p < 0.001, an upper bound, not a point estimate.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:41432355
reference_title: "Comprehensive Risk Profile of Gastrointestinal and Extra Articular Comorbidities in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: A Propensity-Matched Analysis of 118,256 Individuals."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: "Among GI disorders, gastroesophageal reflux disease was most common in EDS (18.4%, OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.4-1.5, p < 0.001), followed by constipation (12.4%, OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.7-1.9, p < 0.001), irritable bowel syndrome (7.3%, OR 2.6, 95% CI 2.5-2.8, p < 0.001) and gastroparesis (4.7%, OR 8.2, 95% CI 7.3-9.2, p < 0.001)."
explanation: A large propensity-matched cohort quantifies elevated IBS prevalence and odds ratio in EDS patients, alongside related GI comorbidities.
- source: LITERATURE
method: LITERATURE_ASSOCIATION
signal_disorder_a_id: MONDO:0007523
signal_disorder_b_id: MONDO:0005052
population: >-
Cross-sectional screening of 1,998 university students (non-patient,
non-clinic population); 74 met EDS-hypermobility-type criteria versus 88
without.
directionality: UNKNOWN
statistics:
metrics:
- metric_type: PREVALENCE
metric_value: 41.9
notes: >-
Prevalence of multiple GI symptoms in EDS-HT students versus 27.3% in
non-EDS-HT students (P=.05); this is a broader "multiple GI symptoms"
measure rather than a formal IBS diagnosis.
evidence:
- reference: PMID:27683076
reference_title: "The association between Ehlers-Danlos syndrome-hypermobility type and gastrointestinal symptoms in university students: a cross-sectional study."
supports: SUPPORT
evidence_source: HUMAN_CLINICAL
snippet: "EDS-HT students were more likely to have multiple GI symptoms (41.9% vs 27.3% P=.05), particularly postprandial fullness (34.4% vs 15.9%, P=.01) and early satiety (32% vs 17%, P=.03)"
explanation: >-
Demonstrates the GI-symptom association is present even in a
non-patient, non-clinic-selected population, reducing the concern
that the association is purely an artifact of specialty-clinic
ascertainment.