A study to assess the prevalence of dyspepsia among undergraduate medical students of a rural medical college- A cross sectional study.

Abstract

Background: Dyspepsia is a common gastrointestinal disease worldwide with a prevalence ranging from 7 to 40%. Dyspepsia has been studied among the general public, but little is known of factors associated with dyspepsia among medical students. Objective: the study was started with objectives to find the prevalence of dyspepsia and to evaluate the association between various factors associated with dyspepsia among medical students. Methodology: A cross-sectional study conducted among 214 medical students at a rural medical college, Bangalore for six months and data collected regarding demographic profile, dietary factors and lifestyle factors through pretested semi structured questionnaire and Dyspepsia was assessed by Short from Leeds Dyspepsia questionnaire through interview. Data entered using Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS software. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Results: The mean age of the study participants is 19.8 years. A total of 43 (20.1%) respondents reported with dyspepsia. There was a significant association between mixed diet and Females with dyspepsia (p<0.05). Conclusion: The importance of improving lifestyle and dietary factors associated with dyspepsia and risk factors should be emphasized. Further studies are needed on dyspepsia in a larger cohort of students in order to fully understand the complexity of this problem and be able to generalize the findings to other cohorts.