Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in Chinese college and university students assessed using Rome III criteria

Table 1 Characteristics of students with or without irritable bowel syndrome n (%)

	Total (n = 2126)	IBS (n = 167)	Non-IBS (n = 1959)	χ2	P value
Sex
Male	917 (43.1)	60 (6.5)	857 (93.5)	3.835	0.05
Female	1209 (56.9)	107 (8.9)	1102 (91.1)
Branch of learning
Liberal arts	701 (33.0)	43 (6.1)	658 (93.9)	5.119	0.077
Science	697 (32.8)	56 (8.0)	641 (92.0)
Medicine	728 (34.2)	68 (9.3)	660 (90.7)
Schooling level
Lower	1425 (67.0)	117 (8.2)	1308 (91.8)	0.754	0.385
Upper	701 (33.0)	50 (7.1)	651 (92.9)

IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome; Non-IBS: Subjects without IBS.

Table 2 Dietary and lifestyle factors in irritable bowel syndrome and non-irritable bowel syndrome groups n (%)

Variables	Categories	Total (n = 2126)	IBS (n = 167)	Non-IBS (n = 1959)	χ2	P value
Dairy produce
	Almost everyday	676 (31.8)	57 (8.4)	619 (91.6)	0.456	0.796
	Sometimes	1305 (61.4)	99 (7.6)	1206 (92.4)
	Almost never	145 (6.8)	11 (7.6)	134 (92.4)
Cold dish	Percentage per day
	< 25%	1650 (77.6)	132 (8.0)	1518 (92.0)	0.512	0.774
	25%-75%	468 (22.0)	34 (7.3)	434 (92.7)
	> 75%	8 (0.4)	1 (12.5)	7 (87.5)
Alcohol
	No	1912 (89.9)	149 (7.8)	1763 (92.2)	0.102	0.750
	Yes	214 (10.1)	18 (8.4)	196 (91.6)
Exercise frequency					9.823	0.007
	Almost everyday	160 (7.5)	11 (6.9)	149 (93.1)	0.121	0.728
	Sometimes	1039 (48.9)	64 (6.2)	975 (93.8)	1.479	0.224
	Almost never	927 (43.6)	92 (9.9)	835 (90.1)	9.505	0.002

IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome; Non-IBS: Subjects without IBS.

Table 3 Univariate analysis of some factors in irritable bowel syndrome and non-irritable bowel syndrome groups n (%)

Factors	Categories	Total (n = 1902)	IBS (n = 167)	Non-IBS (n = 1735)	χ2	P value
Anxiety					60.431	0.000
	0-7	1496 (78.7)	103 (6.9)	1393 (93.1)	2.864	0.091
	8-10	253 (13.3)	25 (9.9)	228 (90.1)	61.053	0.000
	≥ 11	153 (8.0)	39 (25.5)	114 (74.5)	17.493	0.000
Depression					35.597	0.000
	0-7	1357 (71.3)	94 (6.9)	1263 (93.1)	2.549	0.110
	8-10	326 (17.2)	31 (9.5)	295 (90.5)	35.894	0.000
	≥ 11	219 (11.5)	42 (19.2)	177 (80.8)	10.557	0.001
Negative life events in childhood	Normal	967 (50.8)	99 (10.2)	868 (89.8)	6.282	0.987
	Mild	626 (32.9)	48 (7.7)	578 (92.3)
	Moderate	273 (14.4)	19 (7.0)	254 (93.0)
	Severe	36 (1.9)	1 (2.8)	35 (97.2)

IBS: Irritable bowel syndrome; Non-IBS: Subjects without IBS.

Table 4 Evaluation of risk factors for irritable bowel syndrome by multivariate logistic regression analysis

Variables	β	Standard error	Wald	Odds ratio	95% CI		P value
					Lower	Upper
Anxiety	0.106	0.027	15.383	1.112	1.054	1.172	0.031
Depression	0.028	0.029	0.951	1.028	0.972	1.088	0.329

CI: Confidence interval.