Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Twelve percent of patients evaluated by family physicians are diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. A significant proportion of the patients are smoking. We investigated relationship between smoking habits of police officers and irritable bowel syndrome and overlapped gastrointestinal disease.We determined changes in smoking addıctıon. METHODS: The population of 1746 police officers determined their smoking habits admitting to gastroenterology outpatient clinic of İstanbul Koşuyolu Police Hospital between 2000 and 2006 were investigated retrospectively. Six hundred and sixty one patients were diagnosed with irritabl bowel syndrome according to the Rome II criteria. The control group consisted of patients who were not diagnosed with this syndrome. RESULTS: Among the 1746 patients participating in the study, 661 patients (37%) were diagnosed with IBS. Fifty-four percent of patients were constipation dominant, % 3 of them were diarrhea dominant, % 42.9 of them were irritable bowel syndrome with alternating constipation and diarrhea. There was a negative correlation between irritabl bowel syndrome and smoking (p<0.0001 ). CONCLUSION: The patients with irritable bowel syndrome had lower rates of smoking habits in police force. We think this is a response by educated people to irritable bowel syndrome and overlapped gastrointestinal disease caused by smoking.

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