Prevalence and relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms among individuals of different body mass index: A population-based study

Background: Obesity has been identified as a potential risk factor for gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, although the data from community samples remain sparse. We assess the associations between GI symptoms and obesity in a population-based sample of Australian adults. Method: The prevalence of 26 GI symptoms was determined by a validated postal questionnaire which was sent to 5000 randomly selected residents. The response rate was 60%. GI symptoms were classified into six broader symptom groups based on the Rome II Criteria abdominal pain, esophageal symptoms, dysmotility symptoms, diarrhea, vomiting, and constipation. Obesity was defined according to body mass index using self-reported height and weight. Results: The prevalence of obesity (BMI >= 30 kg/m(2)) was 25.1%; 36.1% were overweight. There were significant and positive univariate associations between obesity and abdominal pain (OR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.39-2.21), esophageal symptoms (OR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.36-2.22), dysmotility symptoms (OR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.16-1.77) and diarrhea (OR = 2.01; 95% CI: 1.65-2.45). The adjustment for socioeconomic characteristics and eating behaviors had minimal effect on the associations for abdominal pain (OR = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.01-1.79), esophageal symptoms (OR = 1.35; 95% CI: 1.03-1.78), and diarrhea (OR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.49-2.31); however, the association between obesity and dysmotility symptoms became non-significant. Obesity was not related to constipation. Conclusion: Obesity is an independent risk factor for abdominal pain, esophageal symptoms and diarrhea, but is not associated with dysmotility symptoms or constipation. Crown Copyright (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Asia Oceania Association for the Study of Obesity. All rights reserved.