Table of Contents

Functional Bowel Symptoms (Rome III)

The Rome III IBS Diagnostic Questionnaire is a survey to assess whether individuals meet the diagnostic criteria for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)1)(section: Diseases & symptoms).
The Rome III diagnostic criteria are set forth by the Rome Foundation.
The Rome III Survey was implemented in Lifelines general assessment 2A and was used in additional assessments on intestinal health and microbiome (DEEP and DAG3). An IBS diagnostic score according to the ROME III has been developed and is available for use.

Background

Lifelines repeatedly assessed the presence of IBS by self-report. However, recent studies indicate that this method misses ~69% of IBS diagnoses2). The Rome III IBS DQ improves the identification of participants that meet the diagnostic criteria for IBS by assessing the presence of individual symptoms rather than the disease itself. The instrument is able to distinguish between IBS and functional constipation, functional bloating and functional diarrhea.

Scoring

The Rome III IBS Diagnostic Questionnaire contains 26 items assessing the frequency of bowel complaints (i.e. recurrent abdominal pain or uncomfortable sensations not described as pain) in the last 3 months, with onset at least 6 months, associated with 2 or more of the following:

Validity

Variables

Questions English Questions Dutch Code Variable Assessment Age
How often did you have abdominal pain or an unpleasant feeling in your abdomen in the past 3 months? Hoe vaak had u in de afgelopen 3 maanden last van buikpijn of van een vervelend gevoel in uw buik? rome3_discomfort_adu_q_01 ROME1 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
For women: did you have this unpleasant feeling in your belly only during your menstruation and not at other times? Voor vrouwen: had u alleen tijdens uw menstruatie last van dit vervelende gevoel in uw buik of van deze buikpijn en niet op andere momenten? rome3_discomfort_adu_q_02 ROME2 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
Have you had this unpleasant feeling in your abdomen or this abdominal pain for 6 months or longer? Hebt u dit vervelende gevoel in uw buik of deze buikpijn al 6 maanden of langer? rome3_discomfort_adu_q_03 ROME3 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
How long have you had an unpleasant feeling in the abdomen or abdominal pain (in years) Hoe lang een vervelend gevoel in de buik of buikpijn (in jaren) rome3_discomfort_adu_q_03_a ROME3A 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
How long have you had an unpleasant feeling in the abdomen or abdominal pain (in months) Hoe lang een vervelend gevoel in de buik of buikpijn (in maanden) rome3_discomfort_adu_q_03_b ROME3B 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
How often did this unpleasant feeling in your abdomen or abdominal pain improve or disappear after bowel movement? Hoe vaak verminderde of verdween dit vervelende gevoel in uw buik of deze buikpijn na de ontlasting? rome3_discomfort_adu_q_04 ROME4 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
Did you have more frequent bowel movements after this unpleasant feeling in your abdomen or abdominal pain started? Had u, nadat dit vervelende gevoel in uw buik of deze buikpijn begon, vaker ontlasting? rome3_discomfort_adu_q_05 ROME5 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
Did you have less frequent bowel movements after this unpleasant feeling in your abdomen or abdominal pain started? Had u, nadat dit vervelende gevoel in uw buik of deze buikpijn begon, minder vaak ontlasting? rome3_discomfort_adu_q_06 ROME6 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
Were the stools softer or thinner after this unpleasant feeling in your abdomen started? Was de ontlasting dunner of zachter nadat dit vervelende gevoel in uw buik of deze buikpijn begon? rome3_discomfort_adu_q_07 ROME7 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
How often did you have harder stools after this unpleasant feeling in your abdomen or abdominal pain started? Hoe vaak had u, nadat dit vervelende gevoel in uw buik of deze buikpijn begon, last van hardere ontlasting? rome3_stool_adu_q_08 ROME8 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
How often did you have fewer than 3 (0-2) bowel movements a week in the past 3 months? In de afgelopen 3 maanden, hoe vaak had u minder dan 3 keer (0-2 keer) ontlasting per week? rome3_stool_adu_q_09 ROME9 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
In the past 3 months, how often did you have hard or pellet-like stools? In de afgelopen 3 maanden, hoe vaak had u last van harde of keutelige ontlasting? rome3_stool_adu_q_10 ROME10 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
In the past 3 months, how often did you have to strain during bowel movements? In de afgelopen 3 maanden, hoe vaak moest u persen tijdens de stoelgang? rome3_stool_adu_q_11 ROME11 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
In the past 3 months, how often did you have the feeling that your intestines were not quite empty after bowel movements? In de afgelopen 3 maanden, hoe vaak had u na de stoelgang het gevoel dat uw darmen niet helemaal leeg waren? rome3_stool_adu_q_12 ROME12 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
In the past 3 months, how often did you have the feeling that your stools did not want to pass during bowel movements (i.e. were blocked)? In de afgelopen 3 maanden, hoe vaak had u het gevoel dat uw ontlasting tijdens de stoelgang niet wilde passeren (ofwel geblokkeerd werd)? rome3_stool_adu_q_13 ROME13 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
In the past 3 months, how often did you press on or around the anus or removed stools manually to complete bowel movements? In de afgelopen 3 maanden, hoe vaak hebt u op of rond de anus gedrukt of ontlasting handmatig verwijderd om de stoelgang te voltooien? rome3_stool_adu_q_14 ROME14 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
Did one or more of the symptoms of constipation listed in ROME9 to ROME14 start more than 6 months ago? Zijn één of meer symptomen van obstipatie zoals genoemd in vraag ROME9 t/m ROME14, meer dan 6 maanden geleden begonnen? rome3_stool_adu_q_15 ROME15 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
I the past 3 months, how often did you have thin, loose or watery stools? Hoe vaak had u in de afgelopen 3 maanden last van dunne, brijige of waterige ontlasting? rome3_stool_adu_q_16 ROME16 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
Was at least three-quarters (3/4) of your stools thin, loose or watery in the past three months? Was in de afgelopen 3 maanden minstens driekwart (¾) van uw ontlasting dun, brijig of waterig? rome3_stool_adu_q_17 ROME17 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
Have you regularly had thin, loose or watery stools for longer than 6 months? Hebt u al langer dan 6 maanden regelmatig dunne, brijige of waterige ontlasting? rome3_stool_adu_q_18 ROME18 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
How often did you have intestinal gas or a swollen/hard belly in the past 3 months? Hoe vaak had u in de afgelopen 3 maanden last van gasvorming of een opgezette/harde buik? rome3_gas_adu_q_19 ROME19 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
Did your symptoms of intestinal gas or a swollen/hard belly start more than 6 months ago? Zijn uw symptomen van gasvorming of een opgezette/harde buik meer dan 6 maanden geleden begonnen? rome3_gas_adu_q_20 ROME20 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
How often did you have an unpleasantly full feeling after a regular-sized meal in the past 3 months? Hoe vaak had u in de afgelopen 3 maanden een onprettig vol gevoel na een maaltijd van normale omvang? rome3_meals_adu_q_21 ROME21 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
Have you had this bloated feeling after meals for longer than 6 months? Hebt u al langer dan 6 maanden last van dit onprettig volle gevoel na de maaltijd? rome3_meals_adu_q_22 ROME22 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
How often were you unable to finish a regular-sized meal in the past 3 months? Hoe vaak was u in de afgelopen 3 maanden niet in staat om een normale maaltijd volledig op te eten? rome3_meals_adu_q_23 ROME23 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
Have you had this problem with eating a complete meal for longer than 6 months? Hebt u al langer dan 6 maanden last van dit onvermogen om een normale maaltijd volledig op te eten? rome3_meals_adu_q_24 ROME24 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
How often did you have pain or a burning feeling in the centre of your abdomen, above your belly button, but not in the chest, in the past 3 months? Hoe vaak had u de afgelopen 3 maanden pijn of een branderig gevoel in het midden van de buik, boven uw navel, maar niet in de borst? rome3_pain_adu_q_25 ROME25 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
Have you had this pain or burning feeling for longer than 6 months? Hebt u al langer dan 6 maanden deze pijn of dit branderige gevoel? rome3_pain_adu_q_26 ROME26 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
To what extent did your abdominal complaints hamper your normal activities (both work outside the home and household chores) in the past 6 months? In welke mate hebben buikklachten u de afgelopen 6 maanden belemmerd bij uw normale werkzaamheden (zowel werk buitenshuis als huishoudelijk werk)? rome3_pain_adu_q_27 ROME27 2A 3A NEXT DEEP 18+
1)
Whitehead WE et al. (2006) Development and validation of the Rome III diagnostic questionnaire. In Rome III: The Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, 3rd edn Degnon Associates: McLean, VA, 835–853
2)
Warren JW, Clauw DJ (2012). Functional somatic syndromes: sensitivities and specificities of self-reports of physician diagnosis. Psychosomatic Medicine 74(9):891-895
3)
Whitehead WE and Drossman DA (2010). Validation of symptom-based diagnostic criteria for irritable bowel syndrome: a critical review. Am J Gastroenterol. 105(4):814-20
4)
Dorn SD et al. (2009) Irritable bowel syndrome subtypes defined by Rome II and Rome III criteria are similar. J Clin Gastroenterol 43:214–220