Digestive Diseases and Sciences

, Volume 51, Issue 5, pp 946–951 | Cite as

A Survey of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Vietnam Using the Rome Criteria

  • Marc J. Zuckerman
  • Giang Nguyen
  • Hoi Ho
  • Luat Nguyen
  • Gavin G. Gregory
Original Paper
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Prevalence estimates for irritable bowel syndrome from surveys in Western countries are 4.4% to 22%, generally higher in women than men, and only a minority seek health care. There are few studies of bowel patterns in Asian countries. We conducted a survey of a nonpatient population in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to determine bowel patterns and the prevalence of bowel dysfunction. A forced-choice, self-report questionnaire was distributed to 738 predominantly health care workers, as well as patient relatives, at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and returned by 411 (response rate of 55.7%). Results were analyzed for men and women using Student’s t-test for continuous variables and chi-square test for categorical variables. Subjects were 53.6% female, with a mean age of 27.7±6.9 years. Overall perception of health was excellent/very good in 13.6%, good in 54.2%, and fair/poor in 32.1% (males, 17.1%, 51.3%, and 31.5%, vs. females, 10.6%, 56.7%, and 32.7%; P=NS). The mean number of stools reported per week was 6.5 (males, 6.6, vs. females, 6.4; P=NS) and ranged between 3 and 21 stools per week in 95.5%. The frequency of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms (using Rome I criteria) was 7.2% (95% CI=4.8–10.1), with males at 4.8% (95% CI=2.2–8.9) vs. females at 9.2% (95% CI=5.7–13.9) (P=0.08). Of the subjects with irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, 6 of 29 (20.7%) had seen a physician for bowel symptoms. There were no gender differences in reported infrequent stool (12.0%), frequent stool (11.3%), hard stool (17.5%), loose stool (6.5%), straining (14.5%), incomplete emptying (16.2%), bloating (15.0%), urgency (10.0%), or mucus (2.7%). In conclusion, this survey of a nonpatient population in Vietnam showed that irritable bowel syndrome symptoms as defined by Rome criteria were common and that there were no significant differences between sexes in either stool frequency or prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome, unlike previous studies from the United States. The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in Vietnam in this study was in the lower range of reported data from Western countries, possibly in part related to the use of the Rome criteria. Only a minority of subjects with irritable bowel syndrome symptoms reported seeking health care for these symptoms.

Key Words

Epidemiology Irritable bowel syndrome Rome criteria Vietnam 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Douglas A. Drossman, MD, for his review of the manuscript, Bien Le and Nancy Casner for data collection, and Myrna Arvizo and Laura Medina for typing the manuscript.

References

  1. 1.
    Thompson WG, Heaton KW (1980) Functional bowel disorders in apparently healthy people. Gastroenterology 79:283–288PubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. 2.
    Drossman DA, Sandler RS, McKee DC, Lovitz AJ (1982) Bowel patterns among subjects not seeking health care. Use of a questionnaire to identify a population with bowel dysfunction. Gastroenterology 83:529–534PubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. 3.
    Sandler RS, Drossman DA, Nathan HP, McKee DC (1984) Symptom complaints and health care seeking behavior in subjects with bowel dysfunction. Gastroenterology 87:314–318PubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. 4.
    Welch GW, Pomare EW (1990) Functional gastrointestinal symptoms in a Wellington community sample. NZ Med J 103:418–420Google Scholar
  5. 5.
    Talley NJ, Zinmeister AR, Van Dyke C, Melton J III (1991) Epidemiology of colonic symptoms and the irritable bowel sydrome. Gastroenterology 101:927–934PubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. 6.
    Heaton KW, O’Donnell LJD, Braddon FEM, Mountford RA, Hughes AO, Cripps PJ (1992) Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in a British urban community: Consulters and nonconsulters. Gastroenterology 102:1962–1967PubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. 7.
    Drossman DA, Li Z, Andruzzi E, Temple R, Talley NJ, Thompson WG, Whitehead WE, Janssens J, Funch-Jensen P, Corazziari E, Richter JE, Koch GG (1993) US householder survey of functional gastrointestinal disorders: Prevalence, sociodemography and health impact. Dig Dis Sci 38:1569–1580PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. 8.
    Longstreth GF, Wolde-Tsakik G (1993) Irritable bowel-type symptoms in HMO examinees. Prevalence, demographics, and clinical correlates. Dig Dis Sci 38:1581–1589PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. 9.
    Zuckerman MJ, Guerra LG, Drossman DA, Foland JA, Gregory GG (1995) Comparison of bowel patterns in Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. Dig Dis Sci 40:1763–1769PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. 10.
    Talley NJ, Boyce PM, Jones M (1997) Predictors of health care seeking for irritable bowel syndrome: A population based study. Gut 41:394–398PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. 11.
    Boyce PM, Koloski NA, Talley NJ (2000) Irritable bowel syndrome according to varying diagnostic criteria: Are the new Rome II criteria unnecessarily restrictive for research and practice? Am J Gastroenterol 95:3176–3183PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. 12.
    Saito YA, Locke GR, Talley NJ, Zinsmeister AR, Fett SL, Melton LJ (2000) A comparison of the Rome and Manning criteria for case identification in epidemiological investigations of irritable bowel syndrome. Am J Gastroenterol 95:2816–2824PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. 13.
    Mearin F, Badia X, Balboa A, Baro E, Caldwell E, Cucala M, Diaz-Rubio M, Fueyo A, Ponce J, Roset M, Talley NJ (2001) Irritable bowel syndrome prevalence varies enormously depending on the employed diagnostic criteria: Comparison of Rome II versus previous criteria in a general population. Scand J Gastroenterol 36:1155–1161PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. 14.
    Thompson WG, Irvine EJ, Pare P, Ferrazzi S, Rance L (2002) Functional gastrointestinal disorders in Canada. First population-based survey using Rome II criteria with suggestions for improving the questionnaire. Dig Dis Sci 47:225–235PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. 15.
    Drossman DA, Camilleri M, Mayer EA, Whitehead WE (2002) AGA technical review on irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology 123:2108–2131PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. 16.
    Danivat D, Tankeyoon M, Sriratanaban A (1988) Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in a non-Western population. Br Med J 296:1710Google Scholar
  17. 17.
    Wen PZ, Pang QY (1988) Functional bowel disorders in apparently healthy Chinese people. Chin J Epidemiol 9:345–349Google Scholar
  18. 18.
    Schlemper RJ, Van der Werf SDJ, Vandenbroucke JP, Biemond I, Lamers CBHW (1993) Peptic ulcer, non-ulcer dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome in The Netherlands and Japan. Scand J Gastroenterol 28 (Suppl 200):33–41Google Scholar
  19. 19.
    Ha MV (1997) How to apply modern scientific and technological advances to the practice of clinical gastroenterology in Vietnam. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 12:S45–S47PubMedGoogle Scholar
  20. 20.
    Drossman DA, Richter JE, Talley NJ, Thompson WG, Corazziari E, Whitehead WE (1994) The functional gastrointestinal disorders: diagnosis, pathophysiology and treatment. Little, Brown, BostonGoogle Scholar
  21. 21.
    Drossman DA, Talley NJ, Whitehead WE, Thompson WG, Corazziari E (2000) The Rome II modular questionnaire. In: Drossman DA, Corazziari E, Talley NJ, Thompson WG, Whitehead WE (eds) The functional gastrointestinal disorders. Deagon Associates, McLean VA, pp 669–688Google Scholar
  22. 22.
    Hanh TTM, Komatsu T, Hung NT, Chuyen VN, Yoshimura Y, Tien PG, Yamamoto S (2001) Nutritional status of middle-aged Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City. J Am Coll Nutr 20:616–622PubMedGoogle Scholar
  23. 23.
    van der Hoek W, De NV, Konradsen F, Cam PD, Hoa NTV, Toan ND, Cong LD (2003) Current status of soil-transmitted helminthes in Vietnam. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Pub Health 34 (Suppl 1):1–11Google Scholar
  24. 24.
    Manning AP, Thompson WG, Heaton KW, Morris AF (1978) Towards a positive diagnosis of the irritable bowel. Br Med J 2:653–654PubMedGoogle Scholar
  25. 25.
    Thompson WG, Longstreth GF, Drossman DA, Heaton KW, Irvine EJ, Muller-Lissner SA (2000) Functional bowel disorders and functional abdominal pain. In: Drossman DA, Corazziari E, Talley NJ, Thompson WG, Whitehead WE (eds) The functional gastrointestinal disorders. Degnon Associates, McLean VA, pp 351–432Google Scholar
  26. 26.
    Ho KY, Kang JY, Seow A (1998) Prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in a multiracial Asian population, with particular reference to reflux type symptoms. Am J Gastroenterol 93:1816–1822PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. 27.
    Chen LY, Ho KY, Phua KH (2000) Normal bowel habits and prevalence of functional bowel disorders in Singaporean adults—findings from a community based study in Bishan. Singapore Med J 41:255–258PubMedGoogle Scholar
  28. 28.
    Pan G, Lu S, Ke M, Han S, Guo H, Fang X (2000) Epidemiolgic study of the irritable bowel syndrome in Beijing: stratified randomized study by cluster sampling. Chin Med J 113:35–39PubMedGoogle Scholar
  29. 29.
    Masud MA, Hasan M, Khan AKA (2001) Irritable bowel syndrome in a rural community in Bangladesh: Prevalence, symptoms pattern, and health care seeking behavior. Am J Gastroenterol 96:1547–1552PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. 30.
    Lau EMC, Chan FKL, Ziea ETC, Chan CSY, Wu JCY, Sung JJY (2002) Epidemiology of irritable bowel syndrome in Chinese. Dig Dis Sci 47:2621–2624PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. 31.
    Kwan ACP, Hu WHC, Chan YK, Yuen YW, Lai ST, Yven H (2002) Prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in Hong Kong. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 17:1180–1186PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. 32.
    Lu CL, Chen CY, Lang HC, Luo JC, Wang SS, Chang FW, Lee SD (2003) Current patterns of irritable bowel syndrome in Taiwan: the Rome II questionnaire on a Chinese population. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 18:1159–1169PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. 33.
    Gwee KA, Wee S, Wong ML, Png DJC (2004) The prevalence, symptom characteristics, and impact of irritable bowel syndrome in an asian urban community. Am J Gastroenterol 99:924–931PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. 34.
    Chey WD, Olden K, Carter E, Boyle J, Drossman D, Chang L (2002) Utility of the Rome I and Rome II criteria for irritable bowel syndrome in U.S. women. Am J Gastroenterol 97:2803–2811PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. 35.
    Thompson WG (2002) A world-view of IBS. In: Camilleri M, Spiller RC (eds) Irritable bowel syndrome: diagnosis and treatment. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 17–26Google Scholar
  36. 36.
    Zuckerman MJ, Guerra LG, Drossman DA, Foland JA, Gregory GG (1996) Health-care-seeking behaviors related to bowel complaints: Hispanics vs. non–Hispanic whites. Dig Dis Sci 41:77–82PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. 37.
    Koloski NA, Talley NJ, Boyce PM (2001) Predictors of health care seeking for irritable bowel syndrome and nonulcer dyspepsia: A critical review of the literature on symptom and psychosocial factors. Am J Gastroenterol 96:1340–1349PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. 38.
    Connell AM, Hilton C, Irvine G, Lennard-Jones JE, Misiewicz JJ (1965) Variation of bowel habit in two population samples. Br Med J 2:1095–1099PubMedGoogle Scholar
  39. 39.
    Sandler RS, Drossman DA (1987) Bowel habits in young adults not seeking health care. Dig Dis Sci 32:841–845PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. 40.
    Longstreth GF (1993) Bowel patterns and anxiety. Demographic factors. J Clin Gastroenterol 17:128–132PubMedGoogle Scholar
  41. 41.
    Heaton KW, Radvan J, Cripps H, Mountford RA, Braddon FE, Hughes AO (1992) Defecation frequency and timing, and stool form in the general population: a prospective study. Gut 33:818–824PubMedGoogle Scholar
  42. 42.
    Eyton J, Neuwirth G (1984) Cross-cultural validity: ethnocentrism in health studies with special reference to the Vietnamese. Soc Sci Med 18:447–453PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. 43.
    Manning AP, Wyman JB, Heaton KW (1976) How trustworthy are bowel histories? Comparison of recalled and recorded information. Br Med J 2:213–214PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2006

Authors and Affiliations

  • Marc J. Zuckerman
    • 1
    • 4
  • Giang Nguyen
    • 2
  • Hoi Ho
    • 1
  • Luat Nguyen
    • 1
  • Gavin G. Gregory
    • 3
  1. 1.Texas Tech University Health Sciences CenterEl PasoUSA
  2. 2.Cho Ray HospitalHo Chi Minh CityVietnam
  3. 3.University of TexasEl PasoUSA
  4. 4.Division of GastroenterologyTexas Tech University Health Sciences CenterEl PasoUSA

Personalised recommendations