A Study of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Self-esteem, Depression, and Physical Health in Female University Students

Purpose: The purpose of study was to explore the frequency of irritable bowel syndrome(IBS) among female university students and identify self-esteem, depression, and physical health. Method: The secondary analysis was performed. A total 401 university female students were recruited from 1 university in Korea. IBS was diagnosed based on the Rome III criteria. The questionnaires included Rosenberg's self-esteem scale, Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CESD) scale, and physical health questionnaire developed by Lee. The collected data was analyzed with SPSS Win 15.0 statistics program using frequencies, percentages, ANOVA, and the Pearson's correlations of the variables. Result: The frequency of IBS was 26.7 % in students. All women had mixed constipation and diarrhea subtype of IBS. Compared to the women without IBS, those with IBS reported significantly lower scores on self-esteem and higher scores of CESD and on the physical health questionnaire. Conclusion: Nursing interventions targeting female students with IBS should be developed in order to reduce the depression and physical health problem and improve self-esteem.