Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38468467›Full record

Observational studyBrain and behavior2024

Prevalence of fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome and its association with studying medicine, a cross-sectional study in Al-Baath University, Syria.

Mohanad Daher, Sara Abbas, Zainab Asaad, Karam Khalil, Ghania Jadid

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Brain and behavior, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Observational
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Mohanad DaherFaculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.ORCID 0000-0002-0617-6280
Sara AbbasFaculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
Zainab AsaadFaculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
Karam KhalilFaculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
Ghania JadidScientific Representative at Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baath University, Homs, Syria.
Damascus University · SYHoms University · SY

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe aim of this study is to assess the prevalence rate of fibromyalgia (FM) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) among Al-Baath University students and find out whether studying medicine has an association with a higher prevalence rate.

methodsThe participants of this observational cross-sectional study were students aged 18-30 years from Al-Baath University. A structured self-estimated electronic questionnaire developed by Google Forms was distributed using social media platforms from 15 February to 15 March, 2023. We used The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2016 and Fibromyalgia Rapid Screening Tool criteria to assess the prevalence rate of FM. We used The ROME IV criteria to asses IBS prevalence rate.

resultsThe final sample size was 800 individuals. The prevalence of IBS in the study population was 26.8%. Overall, IBS-Constipation was the most common subtype, and the prevalence rate was higher among medical students (14%) compared to other colleges (12.8%) (p = .002). The difference in IBS prevalence between males and females was (9.3% vs. 17.5%, p = .283), but this did not reach the statistical significance. The prevalence of FM according to The ACR in the study population was 3.6%. Females had higher prevalence rate than males (3.1% vs. 0.5%, p = .007). The prevalence of FM was also higher in other colleges compared to medicine (2.3% vs. 1.4%, p = .547), but this did not reach statistical significance.

conclusionWe found an increased prevalence of IBS among medical students. The prevalence of FM did not show any relation to studying medicine. We recommend additional prospective studies to assess whether studying medicine could be a risk factor for these disorders or not.

Indexed as

FibromyalgiaIrritable Bowel SyndromeStudents, MedicalAdolescentAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMalePrevalenceProspective StudiesSurveys and QuestionnairesSyriaUniversitiesYoung Adultfibromyalgiairritable bowelpsychiatricstresssyndrome

Identifiers

PMID38468467
PMCPMC10928353
OpenAlexW4392712369

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.