Epidemiology and risk factors of uninvestigated dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, and gastroesophageal reflux disease among students of Damascus University, Syria

Tareq Al Saadi; Amr Idris; Tarek Turk; Mahmoud Alkhatib

doi:10.1016/j.jegh.2016.07.001

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Volume 6, Issue 4, December 2016, Pages 285 - 293

Epidemiology and risk factors of uninvestigated dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, and gastroesophageal reflux disease among students of Damascus University, Syria

Authors

Tareq Al Saadi^a^{, *}^,tareq145@gmail.com, Amr Idris^b, Tarek Turk^a, Mahmoud Alkhatib^a

^aFaculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Mazzeh Street, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic

^bUniversity of Kentucky, Internal Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA

^*Corresponding author at: Faculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Mazzeh Street, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic. Tel.: +963 999567195; fax: +963 118821438.

Corresponding Author

Tareq Al Saaditareq145@gmail.com

Received 5 September 2015, Revised 11 July 2016, Accepted 16 July 2016, Available Online 5 August 2016.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2016.07.001 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Epidemiology; Gastroesophageal reflux disease; Irritable bowel syndrome; Risk factors; Syria; Uninvestigated dyspepsia
Abstract: Uninvestigated dyspepsia (UD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are common disorders universally. Many studies have assessed their epidemiological characteristics around the world. However, such information is not known for Syria. We aim to estimate the epidemiologic characteristics and possible risk factors for UD, IBS, and GERD among students at Damascus University, Damascus, Syria. A cross-sectional study was conducted in July–September 2015 at a campus of Damascus University. A total of 320 students were randomly asked to complete the survey. We used ROME III criteria to define UD and IBS, and Montreal definition for GERD. In total, 302 valid participants were included in the analysis. Prevalence for UD, IBS, and GERD was 25%, 17%, and 16%, respectively. Symptom overlap was present in 46 students (15%), with UD + IBS in 28 (9.3%), UD + GERD in 26 (8.6%), and IBS + GERD in 14 (4.6%) students. Eleven (3.6%) students had symptoms of UD + IBS + GERD. Each of these overlaps occurred more frequently than expected by chance. Significant risk factors included cigarettes smoking, waterpipe consumption, and body mass index <18.5 kg/m² for UD; female gender and three cups of coffee/d for IBS; and two cups of tea and one to five cigarettes/d for GERD. Risk factors for these disorders remain poorly characterized and need further investigations.
Copyright: © 2016 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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Journal: Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
Volume-Issue: 6 - 4
Pages: 285 - 293
Publication Date: 2016/08/05
ISSN (Online): 2210-6014
ISSN (Print): 2210-6006
DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2016.07.001 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Cite this article

ris enw bib

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Tareq Al Saadi
AU  - Amr Idris
AU  - Tarek Turk
AU  - Mahmoud Alkhatib
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/08/05
TI  - Epidemiology and risk factors of uninvestigated dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, and gastroesophageal reflux disease among students of Damascus University, Syria
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - 285
EP  - 293
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2016.07.001
DO  - 10.1016/j.jegh.2016.07.001
ID  - AlSaadi2016
ER  -

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