Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
P R Health Sci J. 2021 Mar;40(1):38-44.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is characterized by chronic abdominal pain and altered bowel habits. A high prevalence has been reported in medical students around the globe. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of IBS and associated risk factors in medical students in Puerto Rico (PR).
A cross sectional study was conducted in a sample of medical students from first to fourth year currently enrolled at the University of PR School of Medicine. Participants completed a self-administered, anonymous questionnaire that contained questions about general socio-demographic data, lifestyle habits, degree of subjective psychological stress and the Rome III criteria: IBS Module.
314 medical students were included for analysis. The mean age was 24.8±3.25; 48.1% were females. The prevalence of IBS was 36.3%. Among the IBS subjects, 78 (24.8%) were classified as IBS mixed. Family history of IBS and psychological stress were significantly associated to IBS (p<0.05), whereas cigarette smoking was found to be protective for IBS (OR = 0.26 + .17, P=.04).
This is the first study to describe the prevalence of IBS in medical students in PR. A higher prevalence of IBS was found as compared to that reported for medical students in other countries. Additional studies aimed at estimating the impact of IBS on quality of life and academic performance of the medical students are essential.
肠易激综合征（IBS）的特征为慢性腹痛和排便习惯改变。全球范围内的医学专业学生中，IBS 的发病率都很高。本研究旨在调查波多黎各（PR）医学专业学生中 IBS 的流行情况及其相关危险因素。
采用横断面研究方法，对目前在 PR 大学医学院就读的一至四年级医学专业学生进行抽样调查。参与者完成了一份自我管理的匿名问卷，其中包含一般社会人口统计学数据、生活方式习惯、主观心理压力程度以及罗马 III 标准：IBS 模块的问题。
共纳入 314 名医学专业学生进行分析。平均年龄为 24.8±3.25 岁，女性占 48.1%。IBS 的患病率为 36.3%。在 IBS 患者中，78 例（24.8%）被归类为 IBS 混合型。IBS 家族史和心理压力与 IBS 显著相关（p<0.05），而吸烟被发现对 IBS 具有保护作用（OR = 0.26 +.17，P=.04）。
这是第一项描述 PR 医学专业学生中 IBS 患病率的研究。与其他国家报道的医学专业学生相比，IBS 的发病率更高。有必要进一步开展研究，以评估 IBS 对医学生生活质量和学业成绩的影响。
