Evaluation of irritable bowel syndrome prevalence in medical students

Abstract

Introduction: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder and requires early diagnosis due to its negative impacts on the quality of life. According to the lifestyle pattern of medical students, IBS has a significant prevalence in these individuals. Objectives: The present study aims to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with IBS in medical students. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study has been conducted on 100 medical students studying at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2019-2020. The Rome IV diagnostic criteria were administered to diagnose IBS and individuals were divided into four groups of constipation-dominant (IBS-C), diarrhea-dominant (IBS-D), mixed type (IBS-M) and unspecified (IBS-U). The association of studying grade, gender and residence with IBS was evaluated. Results: The mean age of the students was 23.2±4.8 years, including 68 (68%) women. According to Rome -IV criteria, 24 (24%) ones were diagnosed with IBS. The IBS cases were dominantly in IBS-C group (54.16%). IBS was not associated with gender (P=0.498), educational grade (P=0.661) and type of residence (P=0.562) in the studied medical students. Conclusion: According to the present study, the prevalence of IBS was 24% among medical students, which was higher among women. Most patients had IBS-C, but IBS did not show a statistically significant relationship with gender, educational grade and type of residence.