Prevalence of Irritable bowel syndrome among medical students in Erbil city

Abstract

Background and objectives: Irritable bowel syndrome is a type of functional bowel disease characterized by recurrent abdominal pain associated with a change in stool frequency or consistency without evidence of organic pathology. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with irritable bowel syndrome among medical students in the College of medicine at Hawler medical university. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The target population is medical students, eighteen-to-twenty-six years old. The sample was collected from a convenience population of medical students from all the six stages at college. Data was collected using questionnaire with informed consent from the participants. Rome III criteria was used to ascertain the diagnosis of irritable bowel. Results: syndrome. A total of 250 students participated in the study with 149 from female students and 101 from male students. The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome was 35.2%. The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome was significantly higher among those with family history of irritable bowel syndrome (47.3%) compared with those with no family history of the disease (21.8%). Conclusions: The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome was high among medical students. Positive family history of irritable bowel syndrome is the most important risk and predictor of suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.