The relationship between abdominal obesity and irritable bowel syndrome in adults

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and abdominal obesity. Patients and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, consisting of 18-49 year old patients who applied to Marmara University School of Medicine’s Family Medicine outpatient clinics and who accepted to participate. A questionnaire was applied using face-to-face interview technique; anthropometric measurements were obtained as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). The diagnosis of IBS was made for those who fully met the diagnostic criteria of ROME IV-IBS and had no alarm symptoms. Abdominal obesity of the participants was determined via anthropometric measurements. Statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS 20 package program. Results: A total of 487 patients participated in the study: 77% female, 33% male; mean age value 33.71±8.59 years. The prevalence of IBS was 24.2% (n=118) [F:27.2% (n=102), M:14.3% (n=16)]. Abdominal obesity prevalence was 31.2% (n=152) [F:24.5% (n=92, M:53.6% (n=60)]. There is no statistically significant difference in terms of abdominal obesity with and without IBS (p>0.05). Conclusion: In this study no statistically significant relationship has been detected between IBS and abdominal obesity.