Self-reported symptoms of uninvestigated dypepsia among University staff in Ilorin, Nigeria

Objectives: Dyspepsia is a common gastrointestinal (GI) symptom which impacts negatively on quality of life, workplace efficiency and overall productivity. Many studies on dyspepsia in our environment are hospital based, but being a complaint frequently treated first by self-medication before presentation to the hospital, such studies may underestimate its prevalence. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of the dyspepsia and its associated factors among administrative staff of the College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Pretested structured, close-ended, interviewer-administered questionnaires were administered to 53 administrative staff selected across the different units by stratified random sampling. The questionnaire obtained information about subject's experiences of dyspeptic symptoms and presence of associated factors such as family history, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), tobacco and alcohol use, and presence of diabetes mellitus (DM).Results: The prevalence of uninvestigated dyspepsia among the respondents was 37.5%. Age was significantly predictive of the occurrence of dyspepsia among the subjects Odds Ratio- 1.46, 95% Confidence Interval (1.042-2.045) P=0.03. Use of NSAIDS, presence of DM, family history and tobacco use were not predictive of occurrence of dyspepsia.Conclusion: The prevalence of dyspepsia is high among respondents in the study.Keywords: Dyspepsia, prevalence, university, Nigeri