Prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and associated factors among medical students at the University of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia, 2023

Abstract Introduction: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel habits. Medical students are exposed to high levels of stress, irregular eating habits, and academic pressure, which may predispose them to a higher risk of developing IBS. Objective:To determine prevalence and associated factors of IBS among medical students at the University of Gondar, North West Ethiopia,2023. Methods: Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted on 450 medical students at UOG-CMHS from December 11 to 31, 2023. We used simple random sampling by computer based lottery method to select 218 participants to our study. Data was collected by using a structured questionnaire on sociodemographic, symptoms of IBS using Rome IV criteria and possible risk factors and the data was entered in to SPSS cleaned, coded and analyzed. Result: Fifty (23%) of participated medical students met the criteria for IBS, 40% of them had constipation dominant, 17.1% had diarrhea dominant and 42.9% had mixed type of IBS. Emotional stress (P=0.01) and anxiety (P=0.023) were found to be significantly associated with IBS.