Prevalence and Factors related to Irritable Bowel Syndrome in University Students

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome and factors related to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in university students. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted using a self-report structured questionnaire with 420 university students. Data collection was done during May and June, 2017. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a t-test, χ2 test, and binary logistic regression analysis with IBM SPSS/WIN 22.0 program. RESULTS: The prevalence for IBS was 24% among Korean university students. Family history of IBS (OR=2.98, 95% CI=1.32~6.70), history of stomach and intestinal disease (OR=2.24, 95% CI=1.36~3.77), sleep quality (OR=2.01, 95% CI=1.16~3.48), mild anxiety (OR=2.75, 95% CI=1.19~6.33) and more than moderate anxiety (OR=2.02, 95% CI=1.02~4.00) were found to be factors related to IBS. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of IBS was high among university students, and sleep quality and anxiety significantly influenced prevalence of IBS in these students. Therefore, interventions to decrease symptom of IBS must focus on management of sleep quality and anxiety.