Volume 26, Issue 125, July 2022

Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome and its association with academic performance in Umm Al-Qura University medical students

Ahmad S Al-Zahrani¹, Abdullah S Al-Shanbari¹, Abdullah S Al-Sulami¹, Osama S Zamzami^1♦, Anas A Sindy¹, Saad Albagami¹, Mokhtar Mahfouz Shatla^2,3

¹Department of Medicine and Surgery, College of Medicine, Umm AlQura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
²Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt
³Department of Community Medicine and Pilgrims Health Care, College of Medicine, Umm Alqura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Medicine and Surgery, College of Medicine, Umm AlQura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most prevalent global diseases and national health issues. IBS symptoms have an impact on a patient's quality of life as well as their capacity to work and study. Medical students are affected by IBS, but the rate of IBS is unknown. Accordingly, this study investigates the prevalence and impact of IBS among all medical students at the Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) Medical College. Methods: A cross-sectional study including all medical students at UQU. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires from an online survey using validated ROME III criteria to find out the prevalence of IBS distributed via social media. Results: A total of 303 medical students participated. Most participants were male (59.4%), and female (40.6%), In dependence of ROME III criteria, IBS was diagnosed in 100 (33.0%) of the participants. Participants with IBS had a significant association with life stressors (P = 0.000). In addition, according to the hours spent studying, absence from lectures, poor academic performance, and classroom activities, participants with IBS had significantly lower academic performance than those without. (P = 0.000, 0.001, 0.000, 0.000, and 0.000, respectively). Conclusion: According to the findings, this study found a high frequency of IBS among participants, especially students in clinical-based years (i.e., from the 4th to 6th year). Furthermore, this research discovered a significant association between students without IBS and stressful life events. Poor academic performance was significantly associated with students with IBS compared to those without IBS.

Keywords: irritable bowel syndrome; academic achievement; students; quality of life

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms266e2203

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i125/ms266e2203

Published: 04 July 2022