Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome and its association with academic performance in Umm Al-Qura University medical students

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most prevalent global diseases and national health issues. IBS symptoms have an impact on a patient's quality of life as well as their capacity to work and study. Medical students are affected by IBS, but the rate of IBS is unknown. Accordingly, this study investigates the prevalence and impact of IBS among all medical students at the Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) Medical College. Methods: A cross-sectional study including all medical students at UQU. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires from an online survey using validated ROME III criteria to find out the prevalence of IBS distributed via social media. Results: A total of 303 medical students participated. Most participants were male (59.4%), and female (40.6%), In dependence of ROME III criteria, IBS was diagnosed in 100 (33.0%) of the participants. Participants with IBS had a significant association with life stressors (P = 0.000). In addition, according to the hours spent studying, absence from lectures, poor academic performance, and classroom activities, participants with IBS had significantly lower academic performance than those without. (P = 0.000, 0.001, 0.000, 0.000, and 0.000, respectively). Conclusion: According to the findings, this study found a high frequency of IBS among participants, especially students in clinical-based years (i.e., from the 4th to 6th year). Furthermore, this research discovered a significant association between students without IBS and stressful life events. Poor academic performance was significantly associated with students with IBS compared to those without IBS.