Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may last for a long time. But IBS doesn't cause cancer or shorten your life.

The pattern of IBS varies from one person to the next and from one bout to the next. Some people have symptoms off and on for many years. You may go months or years without having any symptoms. But most people have symptoms that keep coming back. It is rare for a person to have symptoms constantly.

Between 7 and 10 out of 100 people in the world have irritable bowel syndrome.² But most people with IBS don't see a doctor about their symptoms.