Investigating the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome among students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a significant gastrointestinal (GI) disorder. Due to the few studies that have been conducted in this field, the goal of this study is to determine the frequency of IBS among students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. In this study, Rome 3 questionnaires were used to detect the prevalence of IBS. For descriptive analysis, frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation (SD) were used, and the chi-square test was used for the inferential part. After data collection, data were analyzed by Stata software. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of IBS in students participating in the study was 29 (9.67%) with a confidence interval (CI) of 2.13-30.60. The prevalence by gender in women in the study was 17 (9.6%). In this study, there was a significant relationship between age groups with IBS (P = 0.04) and between the student’s faculty with IBS (P = 0.016). Moreover, 24.33% of students reported abdominal pain with a change in stool consistency. There was a change in bowel habits in 28.67% of students. CONCLUSION: Due to the significant and widespread prevalence of IBS among students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences and the reduction in the student’s academic activities which can lead to academic failure, families and staff of the university must pay close attention to this issue.