Magnitude of depression and anxiety in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: A comparative cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Objective: To find out the magnitude of depression and anxiety in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) presenting at a tertiary care Gastroenterology clinic of Karachi, Pakistan. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Gastroenterology, Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan. Period: February 2022 to July 2022. Methods: Patients of both genders, aged 18 – 50 years and newly diagnosed IBS patients (as per ROME-IV criteria) were assessed. Patient’s attendants, hospital staff, and students without any symptoms of IBS were taken as healthy controls. Non-probability, consecutive sampling technique was adopted. Depression and anxiety were determined using hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). The collected data was entered and analyzed using IBM-SPSS Statistics, version 26.0. Chi-square test was applied to compare data taking p<0.05 as significant. Results: This study was conducted on 110 IBS and 110 healthy controls. The mean age of the IBS group was 32.81± 1.12 years while that of the healthy group was 37.60 ± 1.08 years. There were 47 (42.7%) males and 63 (57.3%) females in IBS group while 72 (65.5%) males and 38 (34.5%) females in healthy groups. The prevalence of anxiety was 52.7% and that of depression was 49% according to HAD Scale in IBS group (p<0.001). Conclusion: A strong association of IBS with anxiety and depression was noted, highlighting the necessity of screening for these disorders in gastrointestinal clinics.