• The prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders and their association with lifestyle habits in medical students of Mashhad University of Medical science
  • Soroush Yazdani,1 Hanieh Salmani izadi,2 Shayan Yaghouti,3 Seyyed mohammad matin Alavi dana,4 Ali Okati,5 Zahra Gholamnezhad,6,*
    1. Students Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
    2. Students Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
    3. Students Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
    4. Students Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
    5. Students Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
    6. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran


  • Introduction: Medical student well-being is affected by multiple stressors. Also, there is growing literature in the area of highly prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) among medical students around the world. Up to the moment, there are no reports on the combined association of lifestyle factors and gastrointestinal symptoms with quality-of-life issues. We have therefore investigated the links between aspects of the quality of life, lifestyle-related factors, and gastrointestinal symptoms in medical students.
  • Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey was carried out among the students recruited from the Faculty of Medicine at Mashhad University of medical sciences, in February 2021. The gastrointestinal disorders among students were assessed through the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) questionnaire including symptoms of five categories: reflux, abdominal pain, indigestion, diarrhea, and constipation. And employing the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36), both mental functioning subjective health status were measured. We studied the influence of demographic characteristics, physical activity, and quality of life scales on the prevalence of FGIDs among these students. Comparisons were performed according to gender, BMI, and level of physical activity.
  • Results: Of all the eligible students, 498 (52.2% men) aged 20.7±1.9 years old on average, had completed the surveys and were enrolled in the study. The mean BMI of the subjects was 22.6±3.6 kg/m2. And the majority of the students (39.0%) were categorized in the group with a low level of physical activity. The mean scores for quality of life were significantly poorer in girl students compared to boys, 75.7±11.1 and 72.5±12.9, respectively (P < 0.01). A between-group comparison also revealed significant lower scores in Physical functioning (PF), Role physical (RP), and Role emotional (RE) in female students. The mean GSRS scores for participants were notably different between groups(P=0.03), as higher scores in hunger pain and constipation reported by female students (P < 0.01 and P =0.02, respectively). Hunger pain was reported the most in both, however, male students yielded higher GSRS indigestion scores second to hunger pain, whereas, in female students, constipation was in second place in scores. Functional gastrointestinal disorders were significantly associated with quality of life, and several domain scores of mental and physical functioning, in both boy and girl groups. Having gastrointestinal symptoms was significantly associated with lower mental and physical functioning, except for mental functioning in male students with experience of diarrhea and physical functioning in females with diarrhea (all P < 0.01). Moreover, boy students with indigestion symptoms and girls with hunger pain had lower scores in all domains of the SF-36 (r= -0.334, P < 0.01 and r= -0.329, P < 0.01, respectively).
  • Conclusion: Notable impairments in mental and physical functioning health status were observed among medical students. Health-related quality of life was impaired especially in girl students and those with GI upsets such as indigestion and hunger pain. The results from this research can be dedicated to raising awareness and helping medical schools to institute efforts in ensuring the students’ nutritional, lifestyle habitual, and emotional support, particularly during critical phases of medical training.
  • Keywords: functional gastrointestinal disorders, quality of life, mental and physical health, medical student