Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in Shahrekord, Iran.

BACKGROUND

As part of a public health program, we studied the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as per the Rome II criteria, in Shahrekord community in Iran.

METHODS

The study was conducted between August 2002 and March 2003. Of 5492 randomly selected subjects aged 20 years and above (from a total population of approximately 100,000), 4762 (86.7%) successfully completed interviews to fill in a questionnaire that looked into demographic data and various symptoms during the last one year.

RESULTS

The 12-month prevalence of IBS was 5.8%. The female-to-male ratio among subjects with IBS was 1.17:1 and was similar to that among those without IBS. Pain relieved by defecation was reported by 427 (9%) subjects, pain associated with change in bowel habit by 340 (7.1%), and pain associated with change in the form of stool by 337 (7.1%) subjects.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of IBS in Shahrekord is lower than that reported from Western developed countries and is closer to that in Asian populations.