Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the Youth: An Exploration among Medical Students

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional bowel disorder in Asian nations, however there is little data on how common it is in the Asian population. In a young adult population of Asian descent, this study sought to examine the prevalence of IBS and identify symptom subgroups based on common bowel patterns. A response rate of 87.4% was achieved out of the 610 surveys issued with 533 complete responses. With an average age of 22 1.8 years, the respondents were divided into 229 males (43.0%) and 304 women (57.0%) people. IBS symptoms were reported by 84 respondents (15.8%), with women more likely than males to have them. The majority of people with IBS (77.4%) had the condition where constipation predominated, while only 7.1% had IBS where diarrhea predominated. The non-specific IBS subgroup included 13 (15.5%) of the participants. Anxiety, despair, insomnia, headaches, and backaches were among the psychological and psychosomatic symptoms that were considerably more prevalent in people with IBS. Surprisingly, just 13.1% of people with IBS had consulted a doctor, and 20.2% admitted to using self-medication. This study found that young people of Asian descent frequently experience symptoms that are consistent with IBS, with a prevalence rate of 15.8%. Women were found to have a much higher prevalence, and the subgroup of IBS sufferers with constipation as their primary symptom predominated. Additionally, psychological and psychosomatic symptoms were notably more prevalent in IBS patients. Concerningly, the majority of affected individuals did not seek medical attention for their symptoms.