European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Introduction: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by altered bowel habits and recurrent abdominal pain. The Rome III criteria are the main mainstay for its diagnosis. The reliability on any biochemical markers is reduced provided all warning signs have been excluded. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of IBS among medical students in our region (Western Punjab) and to investigate the lifestyle, sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with IBS. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among Indian medical students. Participants (first- to fifth year medical students from different courses) were invited to complete an anonymous questionnaire addressing social, demographic and clinical characteristics. 456 medical students were recruited in this study. Rome III criteria were used to identify patients with IBS. This questionnaire was used to gather baseline information like the family history of irritable bowel syndrome, socio-demographic data, history of chronic disease, previous diagnosis of IBS, daily sleep hours, smoking, food habits etc. Results: This study included 268 male medical students and 188 were female medical students. Approximately two third of the (69.2%) were in the age group 21 to 24 years and 26.3% had the age between 18 and 20 year and very few among age group of 24-27 years. IBS was diagnosed among 276 out of 456 participants based on Rome III Criteria. The profiles for symptoms were characterized by constipation predominant (IBS-C) (45.6%), diarrhea predominant (IBS-D) (44.7%), and others as mixed type (9.7%). The prevalence of IBS was reported as 72.3% among the female medical students studying at various medical colleges in Punjab and 53.7% among male students. Conclusion: In conclusion, 60.5% of medical students, in this study, met the Rome III criteria for IBS diagnosis. Risk factors for IBS among them included depression, anxiety, low fruits and vegetables intake, taking caffeine and any chronic medication’s intake