Prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and their association with psychological problems in youths.

BACKGROUND:Gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological problems are common in youths, which can negatively affect their lives on physical, mental, and social levels. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in youths and further explore their association with psychological problems. METHODS:Self-reported data on gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological problems in 692 sophomores who majored in education in a high vocational school and 310 recruits who were undergoing basic training in an army in China were retrospectively collected. The self-reported data included demographics, gastrointestinal symptoms, and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) used for the assessment of psychological problems. Gastrointestinal symptoms surveyed included nausea, emesis, abdominal pain, acid regurgitation, eructation, heartburn, anorexia, abdominal bloating, diarrhea, constipation, hematemesis, and hematochezia. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the independent risk factors associated with gastrointestinal symptoms. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. RESULTS:The prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms was 36.7% (n=254) and 15.5% (n=48) in the sophomores and recruits, respectively. Participants with gastrointestinal symptoms had a significantly higher prevalence of total SCL-90 score beyond 160 than those without gastrointestinal symptoms in both sophomores (19.7% vs. 3.2%, P<0.001) and recruits (10.4% vs. 1.1%, P<0.001). Total SCL-90 score beyond 160 was independently associated with gastrointestinal symptoms in both sophomores (OR =5.467; 95% CI: 2.855-10.470; P<0.001) and recruits (OR =6.734; 95% CI: 1.226-36.999; P=0.028). CONCLUSIONS:Gastrointestinal symptoms may be common and strongly associated with psychological problems in youths. Prospective studies should be required to explore the impact of the correction of psychological problems on the improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms.