Prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Among Egyptian Medical Students

One of the most common gastrointestinal disorders is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is a chronic functional bowel disease in which abnormal bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation, or both, are associated with abdominal pain and distension. Around 11% of the general population suffers from their symptoms regardless of the geographical distribution.

Irritable bowel syndrome is more common among females and patients younger than 50. For medical students, IBS is common and may affect up to 25% of them.. Especially final-year students, due to the increasing workload of the final year.

Several risk factors increase the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome, including environmental factors, life events, and junk food abuse. Also, Psychological disorders as severe levels of anxiety, depression, and stress, may contribute to the occurrence of irritable bowel syndrome, and this can be explained by the pathophysiology of IBS, maybe by brain-gut interaction.

Globally, the prevalence of anxiety and depression is higher in medical students compared to other populations, as it reaches up to 38.7% among them. Many factors play a role in increasing the prevalence of anxiety and depression among medical students as stressful courses in medical study, exposure to the death of patients, and others. In Egypt, the prevalence of medical students suffering from stress and anxiety is high due to several problems as financial problems, work overload, traditional methods of education, and the increasing number of students, making communication with thePage 3 of 9 lecturer difficult and that increase incidence of IBS among Egyptian medical students.

Just as anxiety is considered a risk factor for the development of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), IBS can also lead to the occurrence of anxiety and depression, and that can be explained by brain-gut interaction.

Patients with IBS have a three-times increased risk of either anxiety or depression, compared to healthy subjects.

Although the importance of this topic is recognized, there are limited data about the exact prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome among medical students in Egypt.

Previous studies have discussed this topic in three medical schools in Egypt, but their sample size were too small, and they did not assess the associated anxiety and depression among these students, so no definitive conclusion can be made. This is the first study in Zagazig University hospital to assess the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome among both medical students and medical interns, and the most significant risk factors of this condition, and highlight the association between IBS symptoms and anxiety and depression.

Inclusion criteria

• Egyptian Medical students and interns
• Their age ranges from 18 to 29 years
• Have access to online platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram.
• Accept to participate in the questionnaire

Exclusion criteria

• Participate who refused to participate