An honest reading of this correlation: IBS is fundamentally different from the other conditions in this series. It has been prevalent at roughly 10–15% of the Western population since at least the 1970s — it did not emerge or surge in parallel with the metabolic crisis. This means the correlation with rising insulin resistance is more modest (r ≈ 0.71–0.74) than for T2DM (r = 0.98) or ADHD (r = 0.94). The r values shown are genuine: IBS prevalence has edged upward over this period, particularly as diagnostic criteria became formalised (Rome I 1989, Rome II 1999, Rome III 2006, Rome IV 2016), and modern estimates using Rome IV criteria show 6–13% depending on country and method. But the dramatic parallel rise seen in other charts is not present here. The mechanistic connection exists — but IBS is better understood as a condition sustained and worsened by metabolic dysfunction, rather than one caused by it.