Abstract
BACKGROUND: Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) affect the quality of life of individuals. There is a lack of comprehensive community-based data on FGIDs in Kerala. Therefore, the current study was conducted to describe the prevalence and patterns of FGIDs among adults aged 18-69 years in Ernakulam district, Kerala. METHODS: A multistage cluster sampling method was used to conduct a house-to-house survey among 342 participants from urban and rural areas of a Taluk in Ernakulam district. The Rome IV Diagnostic Questionnaire (R4DQ) for adults was translated into Malayalam and administered via the Open Data Kit platform. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics V28. RESULTS: The average age of participants was 48 ± 13 years, and 68.7% were females. The prevalence of FGIDs was 66.4% (95% CI: 61.2%-71.2%). Belching disorder (22.5%), functional abdominal bloating/distension (20.8%) and functional constipation (18.1%) were the most prevalent individual conditions. A decreasing trend for FGIDs was observed with increasing level of education (83.7%, 66.9%, 59.3%, P value = 0.006). Participants with a history of haemorrhoids or fistula (81.0% vs 63.1%, P = 0.007) and those with hypertension (78.5% vs 62.7%, P = 0.009) showed higher prevalence compared to their counterparts. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of FGIDs in the study population was high, and FGIDs were associated with various individual characteristics. Strengthening the existing healthcare system to manage FGIDs, along with educational programmes aimed at improving the knowledge and management of FGIDs among the general population, is warranted to enhance the timely management of common FGIDs and to help avoid the onset of severe complications.