Aim: To investigate the morbidity of functional bowel disorders (FBD) under military stress conditions in order to lay foundations for the prevention and treatment of this disease.
Methods: Four hundred and fifty-seven soldiers who were assigned to specified services and 471 soldiers who were assigned to routine services were enrolled using cluster sampling, with the latter as a control group. They were surveyed using the Rome III FBD standard questionnaire. The FBD symptom questionnaire included FBD-related symptoms, severity, duration or attack time, and accompanying symptoms.
Results: The morbidity of the military stress group (14.6%) was significantly higher than in the control group (9.98%) (χ² = 4.585, P < 0.05). The incidence of smoking, abdominal pain and acid regurgitation (χ² = 4.761, P < 0.05) as well as the ZUNG anxiety/depression scores (χ² = 7.982, P < 0.01) were also significantly higher in the military stress group compared with the control group. ZUNG anxiety (χ² = 11.523, P < 0.01) and depression (χ² = 5.149, P < 0.05) scores were higher in the FBD group compared with the non-FBD group. The differences in the ZUNG self-rated anxiety and depression scales between the 2 groups were statistically significant (χ² = 14.482, P < 0.01 and χ² = 6.176, P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The morbidity of FBD was higher under military stress conditions.
Keywords: Depression scale; Functional bowel disorders; Military stress; Self-rating anxiety; Soldier.