Correlates of health-care seeking behavior in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Abstract

Objective To explore correlates of health-care seeking behavior in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).Methods Four thousand permanent residents were recruited from eight urban communities and rural villages in Guangzhou and Huizhou, Guangdong province during 2009 by cluster stratified sampling for face-to-face questionnaire survey, including symptoms of bowel disease,behavior of seeking for health-care, demographic characteristics, coping style, life events and medical history.IBS was identified based on the Rome Ⅱ Criteria.Patient with IBS were divided into two groups,one seeking health-care at hospitals or clinics and the other non-seeking health-care.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to compare difference between the two groups and explore its related factors.Results A total of 237 IBS patients were identified based on the Rome Ⅱ Criteria, 53 of them (22.4% ) had sought health-care due to their symptoms.Results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that preference in seeking for health-care, abdominal pain lasting for more than one hour in each episode and extra-gastrointestinal symptoms were main factors related to their seeking for health-care,adjusted for age and gender, with odds ratios (ORs) of 1.81 (95% CI: 1.27 -2.58), 1.41 (95% CI:1.01 - 5.14 ) and 2.14 ( 95% CI: 1.06 - 4.33 ), respectively.Conclusions Extra-gastrointestinal symptoms and abdominal pain lasting for more than one hour in each episode correlate their health-care seeking behavior in patients with IBS, as well as their preferences in seeking for health-care. Key words: Irritable bowel syndrome; Data collection; Health-care seeking behavior