There has been an increase in the number of MPs suffering from irritable bowel syndrome due to the stress of their jobs, a doctor who works in parliament has warned.
Dr Fiona Alexander said the number of MPs who were suffering from affliction had "rocketed" since the general election from three to 18.
She said the illness was related to "stress and exhaustion".
Dr Alexander was giving evidence to the Members' Expenses Committee, which is examining the operation of the expenses regime run by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).
She told the committee that there had been a noticeable change in the mood of MPs that came to see her over the past 18 months.
"There has been a change in my perception about the physiological and physical state of the people that I see," she said. "They are less well."
She said she noticed it in "the way they talk, the way they look, their physical actions, the speed they speak."
Dr Alexander also said there had been an increase in the number of MPs suffering from prolonged chest infections.
She suggested this was a reflection that they were "more run down" than they were during the previous eight years she had worked with MPs.
Asked whether she felt the added stress of dealing with Ipsa, she said it was likely factor.
"No matter what all the other stresses are … If someone doesn’t have a stable place to live, doesn't eat regularly, doesn’t have access to their family … they're not going to be healthy."
Many MPs have criticised Ipsa's rules for being overly bureaucratic, blaming it for disrupting both their professional and personal lives.