Revista de Nutrición y Dietética

Abstracto

A Study on the Prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) in Abha, Saudi Arabia

Vedavalli Sachithananthan

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a serious problem in Abha as in most communities in the world and is affecting at least 10-20% of subjects.A cross sectional study was adopted. Around 150 subjects were selected randomly from colleges and primary health centers. An interview schedule was prepared to collect personal background information, general information and information about the disease.IBS was more prevalent in women than in men, the prevalence being 53.3%. Thirty four percent of the cases had constipation only sometimes and 36.7% of the subjects felt insomnia often. In 55% of the cases there was stomach distension. Sixty four percent of the subjects declared that they either had colon disease or knew someone with the disease. A majority of the subjects (61.3%) had IBS symptoms, when they were under psychological stress or anger.The results of the current study concluded that the syndrome of colonic nervous disorder is widespread among the members of society and needed immediate attention.