Irritable Bowel Syndrome among Paramedical Students, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Aim: The study was done to determine the prevalence and associated factors of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) among paramedical students from faculties of Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was done during at KAU during the academic year 2016/2017. A multistage stratified random sample method was used. A total of 525 paramedical students were selected. A standardized self-administered data collection sheet was used. It contained the validated scales of Rome III Criteria, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Results: One-third of the paramedical students were diagnosed as having IBS, based on Rome-III criteria. Nursing and dentistry students had a higher prevalence of IBS than others. IBS-Mixed (IBS-M) and IBS-Constipation (IBS-C) were the commonest sub-types. In bivariate analysis, IBS was significantly associated with female gender, the educational specialty, positive family history of IBS, family income, presence of chronic medical conditions, food hypersensitivity, traveler’s diarrhea, poor sleep quality, stress, anxiety, and depression. After controlling of confounding factors, logistic regression analysis revealed that female gender (aOR: 1.83; 95% CI: 1.12-3.28) was the first predictor of IBS, followed by exposure to stress, depression, family history of IBS and poor sleep quality.

Conclusion: The prevalence of IBS was relatively high among the paramedical students from KAU. IBS was predicted by gender, presence of stress, depression, poor sleeping, and family history. Screening for IBS and psychological problems is required. Conduction of stress management courses, and IBS educational programs are recommended for paramedical students.