Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome: A comparison between rural and urban settings in Bangladesh

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Abstract
Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder. The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) varies from 4% to 20% in different Asian nations. Objective: This community-based study was aimed to find out the prevalence of IBS in rural and urban setting in Bangladesh using Rome-III criteria. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 3500 respondents aged 18 years and above in both rural and urban communities of Bangladesh. The respondents were interviewed using a validated questionnaire in a door-to-door survey. A Rome III criterion was used for diagnosis of IBS. IBS was further classified as constipation predominant, diarrhoea predominant, mixed and un subtype. Statistical analysis was performed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 17.0.The level of significance was set at pd” 0.05. Results: The study population consisted almost equal percent respondents from urban (50.1%) and rural (49.9%) community. Among the respondents, 55.06% was male and 44.94% female. Overall prevalence of IBS 7.2% (95% CI, 6.39-8.10) and majority of the participants were associated with IBS belongs to age group 31-40 years with mean age 39.9%. The prevalence of IBS-C, IBS-D, IBS-M, IBS-U were 0.48%, 1.3%, 4.6%, and 0.8% respectively. In rural setting, the prevalence of IBS was 6.5%, (95% CI, 5.46-7.78) and in urban was IBS 7.8% (95% CI, 6.71-9.23). In this study, the prevalence of IBS was higher in males i.e. 57.2% in rural and 52.9% in urban compared with 42.8% in rural and 47.1% in urban females. Conclusion: In conclusion, the prevalence of IBS in urban 7.8% and rural 6.5% among Bangladeshi population. The result of the study suggests that IBS is a major health issue among these respective populations. Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2021; 47(1): 70-77