The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and factors on Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms
in university students. Methods: This study was descriptive survey research. The subjects were 187 university
students from one university. The exclusion criteria were 1) had GI surgery 2) had severe physiologic or psychologic
problems 3) had liver, bile duct, pancreatic, and intestinal disease that required treatment. The ROME III was used to
diagnose IBS. Sociodemographic characteristics, general health state by SF-36, psychological health by SCL-90-R,
stress by perceived stress scale, sleep disturbance by Korean sleep scale, and diet habits were measured. Data were
analyzed by using SPSS 17.0. Results: Seventeen students (9.1%) had IBS by ROME III criteria, but 46% had some
GI problems at that time. Abdominal pain or discomfort continued for last six months or more in 14.3%. Fiber intake,
obsessive-compulsiveness, hostility, psychoticism, global severity index, positive symptom distress, role physical, bodily
pain, social functioning, and mental health were significantly different between IBS group and Non IBS group. Conclusion:
Over nine percent of the students were diagnosed by Rome III criteria, and almost half of them had some GI
problems. Diet, personality, general health state, and psychological health were factors of IBS.