Uninvestigated dyspepsia and related risk factors in college students

Abstract

Introduction. Uninvestigated dyspepsia is a syndrome characterized by a feeling of fullness, epigastric discomfort, nausea, among other symptoms, whether recurrent or isolated episodes, for which an endoscopy has not been performed to determine the etiology. For clinical diagnosis, the Rome IV criteria are used. Material and Methods. A cross-sectional descriptive observational study. Students from the preclinical cycle of the Universidad del Pacífico were subjected to the OnSite H. Pylori Ab Combo Rapid Test diagnostic test, from CTK Biotech inc, consisting in the chromatographic immunoassay technique to qualitatively detect the presence of antibodies in the blood. The students filled out a questionnaire on symptoms and risk factors to acquire dyspepsia. Results. A total of 156 students were studied with an average age of 22.1 years, 65% female, 55,1% from the Central department. The prevalence of uninvestigated dyspepsia was 32,7% and of anti- H. Pylori antibodies 14%; 13% claimed to be a smoker of at least 1 cigarette/day, 71% reported drinking alcohol, and 45% consuming NSAIDs with a high frequency. Conclusion. The prevalence of uninvestigated Dyspepsia is high and it would be imperative to assign a cause or categorize it as functional dyspepsia in order to use therapeutic measures. It is also important to identify and control possible risk factors for the pathology.