Abstract

Background: Despite the fact that it is difficult to estimate hemorrhoids’(H) true incidence, about 50% of people that are above the age of 50 have some degree of H that may be symptomatic or asymptomatic. Reviews of the hospital medical records show that Saudi Arabia’s western region has the highest incidence rate. The present study is geared toward establishing the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) among Saudis under the objective of investigating its association with prevalence of H.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out among the adult population in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The total enumeration method was used for including all adult males and females who agreed to participate in this study. The final sample size was 939. Pre-tested, questionnaire was used in the data collection.
Results: At 5%, p = 0.003, age, and abdominal pain were significantly associated. The percentages of respondents across the different age groups who reported different amounts of pain significantly varied at a 5% level p = 0.000. The geographical region with which respondents came from and claim of abdominal pain with changes in the rate of passing stool were not significantly associated p > 0.05.
Conclusion: The prevalence of IBS is less than 5% according to the present data. However, IBS symptoms affect almost half of the respondents, while H were having no statistical association with IBS.

Key words: IBS, hemorrhoids, associations