A study of sociodemographic factors and anxiety: depressive disorders among irritable bowel syndrome patients

Abstract

Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a highly prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder. Psychiatric disorders are common among IBS patients and it differs among different cultures. This study was carried out to assess sociodemographic variables and determine the magnitude of anxiety–depressive disorders among IBS patients for proper management. Patients and methods In a cross-sectional study, 73 IBS patients were diagnosed (using the criteria of Rome III) from among 400 serial patents attending the gastroenterology clinic at Islamic University Medical Centre (IUMC), Al-Medina Almounawarrha, KSA, in the period from January to December 2015 and were assessed for sociodemographic variables and anxiety–depressive disorders by psychometric tests, the Arabic version of ‘Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale’ and ‘Beck Depression Inventory Scale’, compared with 73 non-IBS patients. Results Of 400 patients who participated in this study, 73 (18.25%) were diagnosed with IBS and 327 (81.75%) were non-IBS patients. In terms of sociodemographic data, IBS patients were matched with non-IBS patients for age, race (different races from different countries), and living condition. Female sex was predominant as regard sex, family history of IBS, emotional stress and traveler’s diarrhea with statistically significant difference. These variables were statistically significant in our study. In terms of lifestyle factors, both groups were matched for smoking and caffeine intake, but IBS patients experienced food hypersensitivity with a tendency to have normal body weight, and to have poor physical exercise and poor quality of sleep with a statistically significant difference compared with the non-IBS patients. For psychometric tests, 46 (63%) out of 73 patients were diagnosed with anxiety–depressive disorders; 16 (22%) had pure anxiety disorders, 18 (24.6%) had depressive disorders, and 12 (26.4%) had comorbid anxiety–depressive disorders. Conclusion The high prevalence of anxiety–depressive disorders among IBS patients led us to perform a psychiatric assessment as an important part of the management plan for IBS patients.