Epidemiological and demographic characteristics of individuals with irritable bowel syndrome based on the Rome III vs. Rome IV criteria in the Northern part of Serbia

Summary: Background: Rome IV dia­gnostic criteria offer a new definition of IBS as opposed to Rome III. Practically, there have been 3 main changes made from the Rome III criteria to IV, such as abdominal discomfort, the threshold for the frequency of abdominal pain, and the relation of abdominal pain in IBS to defecation. The aims of this study were epidemiology of the IBS population and comparison of the characteristics of the subjects who fulfill Rome III vs. those who fulfill both III and IV criteria with regard to the IBS dia­gnosis. Methods: A sample of adult healthy population from the Municipality of Zrenjanin area was investigated through a questionnaire. All the subjects were approached from 5th March to 17th June, 2020. The study was submitted to and approved by the local Ethics Committee at the city hospital. Results: Based on the conducted survey in the Zrenjanin area, the IBS prevalence was reported to be 26.97% based on Rome III criteria. A larger number of women aged 18–21 was reported to have IBS. The most prevalent subtype noted was IBS-C. A significant correlation was noted between smoking, alcohol, drug abuse, other comorbidities, patient characteristics and stress factors in the IBS identified subjects. Conclusions: To sum up, our study recommends young people to be screened for IBS. Any symptom of change in stool frequency or consistency should raise a suspicion of IBS after undergoing all the relevant investigations for ruling out organic diseases. This will aid their early dia­gnosis and will help to improve their quality of life. Key words: irritable bowel syndrome – Rome III criteria – Rome IV criteria – epidemiology