Impact of Depression on Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)-Associated Gastrointestinal Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Study in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia.

Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal chronic disorder associated with symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation. One of the factors that could affect the pathogenesis of IBS is depression, a common psychological disorder that causes social and physical disability and affects productivity. A number of Saudi teachers were found to have depression, which was linked with multiple risk factors including chronic illnesses. However, there is limited data that exhibits the association between IBS and depression, specifically. Therefore, our study aims to determine the impact of depression on IBS-associated gastrointestinal symptoms in Makkah City schools, Saudi Arabia. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we used two validated scales and translated them into Arabic and then we distributed them to our targeted population. Our sample size was determined to be 383 but we succeeded in recruiting 477 participants in our study. Data were statistically analyzed using the statistical software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results Generally, participants who demonstrated mild levels of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) depression scale corresponded significantly with minimal/mild and moderate levels of Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale-IBS (GSRS-IBS) scores (n = 85 and 76, respectively;