Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the Saudi Population

Abstract

Background: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a very common gastrointestinal dysfunction. Notwithstanding strong evidence of high prevalence of depression and anxiety in IBS there is very limited research on this topic in KSA. Materials and Methods: Cases of irritable bowel syndrome and controls with non-ulcerative dyspepsia were employed between March 2016 to May 2017 from the gastroenterology department in King Abdulaziz hospital, KSA. Presence of anxiety disorder and depression were evaluated by utilizing the Hamilton Anxiety rating scale and Hamilton Depression rating scale respectively. Occurrence rates of anxiety and depression were established and Odds Ratio (OR) was calculated to determine the association of depression and anxiety disorders with IBS. Results: In IBS cases, the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorder was 37.2% and 31.5% respectively. In patients with irritable bowel syndrome the OR for depression was 6.1 (95% CI 1.7-23.6, P=0.008) and the OR for anxiety disorder was 7.3 (95% CI 1.5-36.2, P=0.011). Conclusion: The occurrence of depression and anxiety disorder in IBS is very high. As a result, screening of IBS patients for anxiety and depression would facilitate better interventions and consequently better outcomes and medical treatment.