Did you know that 70 million Americans suffer with some type of gastrointestinal (GI) disorder? That is 40% of adults! A surprising fact is that GI disorders are two times more prevalent than diabetes.
The unfortunate truth is GI disorders are growing by 9% year over year. For the millions of Americans who suffer with these types of disorders they suffer in silence. Symptoms like flatulence (aka gas), burping, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and the dreaded extreme urgency to “go” can be embarrassing to talk about.
Let’s face it we have all been there, but for many this is a daily occurrence and impacts their ability to live a normal life. People with chronic GI issues never know when symptoms will strike, leading to isolation and avoiding social activities for fear of needing a restroom or having uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing symptoms.
If you’re an employer consider these facts:
- 40% of the US workforce is dealing with a GI disorder – including: Irritable bowel syndrome, Inflammatory bowel syndrome, GERD, SIBO and more.
- The average person with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has 4-7 prescriptions.
- 25-30% of people with IBS have depression and anxiety.
- The average employee with irritable bowel syndrome misses work 2 days every month and has a loss of productivity 10 days every month.
- The US spends $136 billion annually on GI disorders, which is more than heart disease ($113B) and mental health($99B)
- It takes an average of 4 years to be diagnosed with IBS and 2 years to be diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.
- People with IBS would trade a month of no sex (40%), cell phone (24%), and the internet (21%) to be free of their symptoms.
- GI disorders have stigma, and their prevalence is not on the radar of most companies. In the coming years there will be significant growth in attention and resources toward GI disorders, much like the attention surrounding mental health today.
It’s time to start the conversation about gut health.
If you’re ready to chat and learn more about how Launch My Health can help send me a message.
