Irritable bowel syndrome among medical students and its association with anxiety.

Objective: To find out the frequency of Bowel Syndrome (IBS) among medical students according to ROME 111 criteria. To find out the frequency of common subtypes of IBS among the IBS positive medical students. To observe the association between anxiety, depression, and irritable bowel syndrome according to HAD scale. Study Design: Cross Sectional study. Setting: Medical Students of BUMDC. Period: September to November 2020. Material & Methods: The study was conducted among the medical students at a private medical college in Karachi. Ethical approval taken. After taking consent questionnaires were given. The total students with irritable bowel syndrome were presented by their frequencies, then finding were analyzed using ROME 111 and HAD scale. Results: A total of 370 students were included after considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. Out of which 152 students (41%) were found to have irritable bowel syndrome according to ROME 111 criteria. The most common IBS subtypes seen in our study was IBS –D (diarrhea) 80. Among those students diagnosed with IBS, anxiety was positive in 100 students while depression was seen in 5 students according to HAD scale. Conclusion: This study concludes that medical students are more prone to develop IBS which is aggravated by stress related anxiety for having extensive curriculum and pressure from the peers of having good score in exam among intellectual section of the society which is not an easy task to cope up.