Prevalence, overlap, and risk factors for Rome IV functional gastrointestinal disorders among college students in northern India

Background/Purpose There is scarcity of data on prevalence, overlap, and risk factors for functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) by Rome IV criteria. We evaluated these factors among medical, nursing, and humanities students. Methods Rome IV Diagnostic Questionnaire (for all FGIDs), Rome III questionnaire (for irritable bowel syndrome [IBS], functional diarrhea [FDr], and functional constipation [FC]), and questionnaires assessing demography, physical activity, anxiety, and depression were used. Results A total of 1309 college students were included (medical 425, nursing 390, humanities 494; mean age 20.5 ± 2.1 years; 36.5% males). Prevalence of Rome IV FGIDs was 26.9% ( n = 352), significantly higher among females compared with males (32.3% vs. 17.6%; p