Irritable bowel syndrome: Epidemiology and risk factors in the adult Saudi population of the central region

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal disease. The prevalence of IBS is estimated to be 11.2% worldwide and even though it is not a life-threatening condition, it affects the quality of life and results in an economic burden on the healthcare system. According to the Rome III criteria, IBS is described as abdominal pain that improves with defecation and the onset of the pain is associated with a change in stool frequency or consistency that cannot be explained by any biochemical or structural abnormality. Aim: To document the epidemiology of IBS and its associated risk factors in the central region of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in the central region of Saudi Arabia, carried out by distributing an online self-administered semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed online in social media and websites. The sample size was 426 participants with a precision of +/- 5% and 95% confidence interval (CI). The questionnaire included demographic characters such as age, gender, occupation, and marital status. The questionnaire also included body mass index (BMI), smoking, family history of IBS, Rome III criteria for diagnosing IBS, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for anxiety and depression. Results: A total of 426 (230 [54%] male and 196 [46%] female) participants were enrolled in the study. According to Rome III criteria, 130 had IBS and the prevalence was 30.5%. Univariate analysis showed that gender, anxiety, depression, and low physical activity are statistically significant variables with symptomatic IBS (P < 0.05). Conclusion: In this study, a high prevalence of IBS in the Central Saudi Arabia population was observed along with the presence of some modifiable risk factors, yet, the sample size was small which shows the need for more studies in this area particularly on the general population.