Predicting Intensity of Symptoms in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Based on Their Mental Health, Quality of Life and the Use of Leisure Time

Abstract

The study aimed to predict the intensity of symptoms in patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) based on their mental health, quality of life and use of leisure time. To do this, three hundred patients were chosen from those who referred to two gastrointestinal clinics in north and east of Tehran by using target-based sampling method of whom ninety-two patients filled out the Rome–III diagnostic questionnaire, Ryff Scale of Psychological Well-Being (RSPWB), SF-12 questionnaire, and leisure time questionnaire. Data were analyzed by using Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis. The results showed that mental health, quality of life and use of the leisure time can predict the intensity of symptoms in these patients (P 0.05). It was also observed that among the demographic variables, age (older patients), gender (female patients), marital status (married patients), level of education (low literacy skills) and the number of referrals to physician can predict the intensity of symptoms in patients (P 0.05).