Prevalence, bowel habit subtypes and medical care-seeking behaviour of patients with irritable bowel syndrome in Northern Greece

摘要

Aim Although irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) prevalence ranges between 10 and 20% in the general population, it appears to be considerably undiagnosed with only 25-50% of patients with IBS seeking medical advice. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of IBS in Northern Greece and the prevalence by symptom subtype including diarrhoea-predominant IBS, constipation-predominant IBS (C-IBS) and mixed type IBS; to identify factors contributing to the development of this syndrome; to assess its effect on health-related quality of life and to evaluate the medical care-seeking behaviour of IBS patients