Prevalence and health/social impacts of functional dyspepsia in Taiwan: A study based on the Rome Criteria Questionnaire Survey assisted by endoscopic exclusion among a physical check-up population

Objective Until now, the epidemiology of functional dyspepsia (FD) and its social impact on Asians have been rarely studied. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence, social impact, and health-seeking behaviors of FD in an apparently healthy Chinese population in Taiwan. Material and methods Based on the questionnaire provided by the Rome II working team, a survey was administered to a Taiwanese population receiving paid physical check-up (n=2865). Esophagoduodenoscopy was performed in each subject to exclude organic dyspepsia. Finally, diagnoses of functional gastrointestinal disorders were obtained by means of a computer-generated algorithm. Results The FD prevalences were 23.8% and 11.8% according to the Rome I and -II criteria, respectively. Nearly 60% of Rome I-defined FD subjects and 18.9% of Rome II-defined FD subjects had overlapping irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Irrespective of any Rome definition, FD subjects had excessive physician visits, absenteeism, and sleep disturbances compared to dyspepsia-free controls (p