Prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Frequency of Symptoms in the General Population of Pakistan

Introduction: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic and debilitating functional gastrointestinal disorder. Risk factors include infective enteritis, female sex, antibiotic exposure, anxiety, and depression. The aim of this study is to find out the prevalence of IBS in healthy population and determine the characteristics of symptoms. Material and Methods: A cross-section study was conducted in the internal medicine unit of a tertiary care hospital in multiple cities of Pakistan. Eight hundred (800) healthy peoples were selected for study from June 2019 to August 2019. Diagnosis of IBS was made by using Rome III criteria. Results: The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in general population in our study was 33.2%. IBS was more common in females compared to males (57.7% vs. 42.2%; p value = 0.009). IBS was more common in age group between 20 and 29 years (45.5%). Among patient diagnosed with IBS in this study, the most common was bloating (74.7%) followed by increased stool frequency (54.4%). Conclusion: IBS is very prevalent in Pakistan, yet there is very little data and awareness related to it. Any change in stool frequency or consistency in young adults, especially women, shall be evaluated for IBS after ruling out other diseases. Early diagnosis and treatment of IBS will assist in improving the patient’s quality of life.