Prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and signs in northwestern Tabriz, Iran.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) signs and symptoms in the general population in the northwestern area of Tabriz, Iran. METHODS: During May 2000, 4225 subjects were randomly chosen from a general population of approximately 230,000 individuals, and invited to a questionnaire interview and a clinical examination. RESULTS: Of the subjects invited, 3983 (94.2%) participated in the study. Among them, 569 (14.3%) reported one or more GI symptoms in the last 2 weeks, and 96 (2.4%) had GI signs. Abdominal pain (5.1%), constipation (3.6%), heartburn (3.0%), dyspepsia (2.9%), a mass prolapsing from the anus (2.1%), bloating (1.5%), and hematochezia (l%) were the most common GI symptoms. Abdominal tenderness on deep palpation was the commonest clinical sign (1.2%). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of GI symptoms in the population studied was lower than that reported from other populations.