An observational study in Irritable Bowel Syndrome, sponsored by Zagazig University. Completed at 1 site in Egypt. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 27 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-07-08.
Sponsored by Zagazig University · Observational
Assess prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome among both medical students and medical interns, and the most significant risk factors of this condition, and highlight the association between IBS symptoms, anxiety \& depression.
One of the most common gastrointestinal disorders is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is a chronic functional bowel disease in which abnormal bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation, or both, are associated with abdominal pain and distension. Around 11% of the general population suffers from their symptoms regardless of the geographical distribution.
Irritable bowel syndrome is more common among females and patients younger than 50. For medical students, IBS is common and may affect up to 25% of them.. Especially final-year students, due to the increasing workload of the final year.
Several risk factors increase the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome, including environmental factors, life events, and junk food abuse. Also, Psychological disorders as severe levels of anxiety, depression, and stress, may contribute to the occurrence of irritable bowel syndrome, and this can be explained by the pathophysiology of IBS, maybe by brain-gut interaction.
Globally, the prevalence of anxiety and depression is higher in medical students compared to other populations, as it reaches up to 38.7% among them. Many factors play a role in increasing the prevalence of anxiety and depression among medical students as stressful courses in medical study, exposure to the death of patients, and others. In Egypt, the prevalence of medical students suffering from stress and anxiety is high due to several problems as financial problems, work overload, traditional methods of education, and the increasing number of students, making communication with thePage 3 of 9 lecturer difficult and that increase incidence of IBS among Egyptian medical students.
Just as anxiety is considered a risk factor for the development of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), IBS can also lead to the occurrence of anxiety and depression, and that can be explained by brain-gut interaction.
Patients with IBS have a three-times increased risk of either anxiety or depression, compared to healthy subjects.
Although the importance of this topic is recognized, there are limited data about the exact prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome among medical students in Egypt.
Previous studies have discussed this topic in three medical schools in Egypt, but their sample size were too small, and they did not assess the associated anxiety and depression among these students, so no definitive conclusion can be made. This is the first study in Zagazig University hospital to assess the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome among both medical students and medical interns, and the most significant risk factors of this condition, and highlight the association between IBS symptoms and anxiety and depression.
1,062 studies on the registry are indexed under Irritable Bowel Syndrome; 190 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 1,093 is above the median of 150 across 178 observational studies indexed under Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Browse Irritable Bowel Syndrome studies →Zagazig University is the lead sponsor of 447 studies on the registry; 75 are open to participants now.
Of its 5 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Egyptian Medical students and Intern
Exclusion Criteria:
An online Questionnaire will be shared via social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook or X for Egyptian medical students and intern to fill
Number of irritable bowel syndrome patients among population
Will use Rome IV criteria to diagnose IBS. It is composed of three questions about the presence of GIT symptoms. The presence of at least two of the three diagnoses the IBS.
Time frame: 1 month
Number of IBS patients suffering anxiety and depression
Will use the HAD questionnaire to diagnose both anxiety and depression. It is a 14 questionnaire divided into two subscales, one for anxiety and the other for depression. Each question is composed of 4 answers, scored from 0 to 3. Cumulative score for each subscale determines the level of either anxiety or depression. an individual can score between 0 and 21 for either anxiety or depression, and be classified into the following categories: 0 to 7, normal; 8 to 10, borderline; and 11 to 21, abnormal (case)
Time frame: 1 month
Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.
This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Zagazig University