The Bidirectional Link Between Mental Health Conditions and Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Among Medical Students. A Cross-Sectional Study in KPK: Gastrointestinal Disorders in Medical Students

Muhammad Shoaib; Ehtisham Ul Haq; Muhammad Aamir Khan; Savira Khattak; Humaira Akbar; Shahbaz Ahmad Khan; Sidra Irfan

doi:10.54393/pbmj.v8i3.1221

Authors

Muhammad Shoaib Department of Community Medicine, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan
Ehtisham Ul Haq Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, Pakistan
Muhammad Aamir Khan Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, Pakistan
Savira Khattak Department of Community Medicine, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan
Humaira Akbar Department of Community Medicine, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan
Shahbaz Ahmad Khan Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, Pakistan
Sidra Irfan Department of Community Medicine, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54393/pbmj.v8i3.1221

Keywords:

Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, Medical Students, Mental Health, Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Abstract

Functional gastrointestinal disorders are common among medical students worldwide, but little is known about how common they are in KPK, Pakistan. Objective: To find out how common FGIDs are among KPK medical students and investigate their connections to other mental health conditions. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed the FGIDs and mental health of medical students in KPK, Pakistan, using the Rome IV criteria, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 scales. Results: The study found that 162 medical students (104 men and 58 females) with a median age of 18 (between 18 and 25) had an 11.7% FGID frequency (females 15.52% vs. males 9.62%), with GERD (12.3%) and IBS (27.5%) being the most common conditions, followed by FD (2.5%). Additionally, the IBS-FD, GERD-FD, GERD-IBS-FD, and GERD-FD overlapping distributions were 1.2%, 6.2%, 1.9%, and 1.2%, respectively. The prevalence of GAD and MDD were 17.9% and 22.2%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that the prevalence of GERD alone was significantly greater in MDD patients than in non-MDD patients (p<0.01). With p-values of 0.042 and 0.001, respectively, FD alone also showed a strong association with MDD and GAD. Additionally, a significant connection (p = 0.024) was seen between IBS and GAD. Participants with GAD showed the highest overlap between FD, IBS, and GAD (p = 0.02). Conclusions: FGIDs were rather common among the medical students in this study (11.7%). Furthermore, these results imply that MDD is linked to FGIDs and OS among Pakistani KPK medical students.

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