Irritable bowel syndrome in a Bangladeshi urban community: prevalence and health care seeking pattern.
OBJECTIVE
Although irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder, its prevalence is unknown, especially in the urban population of Bangladesh. This community-based study aimed to find out the prevalence of IBS and healthcare-seeking patterns using the Rome-II definition.


METHODS
A population-based cross-sectional survey of 1503 persons aged 15 years and above was carried out in an urban community of Bangladesh. The subjects were interviewed using a valid questionnaire based on Rome-II criteria in a home setting. Statistical analysis was performed with Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Programmers and the level of significance was set at P <or= 0.05.


RESULTS
A response rate of 97.2% yielded 1503 questionnaires for analysis. The prevalence of IBS was found to be 7.7% (n = 116) with a male to female ratio of 1:1.36 (49 vs. 67). "Diarrhoea-predominant IBS" (50%, n = 58) was the predominant IBS subgroup. Symptoms of abdominal pain associated with a change in stool frequency (100%) and consistency (88.8%) were quite common. All IBS symptoms were more prevalent among women (P < 0.000). In the past one year, 65.5% (n = 76) IBS subjects had consulted a physician with a slightly higher rate of women consulters (68.6 vs. 61.2%). The main predictor for healthcare-seeking was the presence of multiple dyspeptic symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of IBS in the urban community was found to be similar to that in rural communities. A higher rate of consultation was found among urban IBS subjects than in the rural subjects, with sex not seen to be a discriminator to seek consultation.
Perveen
Irin
I
Department of Gastroenterology, BIHS Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. irinperveen@yahoo.com
Hasan
Mahmud
M
Masud
Mohammed A
MA
Bhuiyan
Mohammed M R
MM
Rahman
Mohammed M
MM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population