Does irritable bowel syndrome plague our budding doctors? – A study from an Indian medical college

BACKGROUND: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a lifestyle disease associated with significant morbidity and healthcare expenses. Although the pathophysiology of this disease remains obscure till date, there are many possible predisposing factors that have been described. Medical education is extremely demanding and taxing, with students facing multiple stressors throughout their course. Stress and mental illnesses being one of the main risk factors for IBS, these students are possibly at a much higher risk of suffering from this disease. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to study the frequency of IBS among a sample of students in a medical college in India and try to determine the determinants associated with this disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross‑sectional study conducted among students studying in Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore. A self‑administered World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO) questionnaire was filled by the participants. The responses were analyzed for identifying those likely to be suffering from IBS based on a scoring system and to assess the association between risk categories and IBS. RESULTS: Prevalence of IBS among 397 participants was found to be 16.9%. About 20.8% of females suffered from IBS as against 11.4% of males. It was also found that the proportion of medical undergraduates likely to be suffering from IBS was more in those belonging to the NRI category (28.6%), those who consumed a diet which was predominantly vegetarian (19.1%) and less in those staying at home (14.5%). CONCLUSION: The proportion of students suffering from IBS was observed to be 16.9% of the sample population with a significant female gender preponderance.