Functional Diarrhoea in a Nigerian Community Prevalence, Risk Factors and Associated Quality of Life

摘要

Introduction: Diarrhoea, in general, is well investigated butthe epidemiology of Functional Diarrhoea (FDr) as a diseaseentity has not been adequately evaluated globally, and moreespecially, in the sub-Saharan African population.Aim: To determine the prevalence and risk factors of FDr, andthe associated quality of life in a Nigerian community.Materials and Methods: The study was a community-basedcross-sectional survey involving 515 consenting adults aged18-70 years. Data collection was done from February to March2019. Ten participants were excluded because of inappropriatelyfilled questionnaires, thus leaving a total of 505 subjects. Theresearch instrument contained sociodemographic information,the Rome IV Functional Bowel Disorder questionnaire, the ShortForm 12, version 2 Health Survey (SF-12v2) questionnaire, theBeck Depression and Anxiety Inventories, the Pittsburgh SleepQuality Index (PSQI), and the Early Trauma Inventory-Self Report.Respondents who were positive for FDr were the cases whilethose who had no FDr were the controls in the data analysis.Independent Student t-test was used to compare means. Theodds ratios of prospective risk factors of FDr were calculatedwith logistic regression. Odds Ratios (OR) > 1 and p-value ≤0.05were considered significant.Results: The mean age of the participants was 32.7±12.9 years.Six participants {1.2% (95% CI, 0.4%-2.4%)} had FDr with a1:2 Male/Female ratio. Functional diarrhoea had a statisticallysignificant association with depression (18.0±12.8 vs 8.2±9.5,p-value=0.021) only among the possible risk factors considered.The mean SF-12v2 scale scores, except Vitality, were lower insubjects with FDr than the controls, though only Social Functioningwas statistically significant (p-value=0.003).Conclusion: The prevalence of FDr is low in the present studypopulation. The disease is associated with depression and itimpacts the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) negatively.