the association of depression and anxiety disorders with gastrointestinal symptoms among nurses

Background: the significant overlap of psychological disorders in both functional and organic gastrointestinal (gi) diseases highlights the complex and interconnected relationship between the brain and the gut. objectives: this study investigated the association between depression and anxiety with gi symptoms among nurses.materials & methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted on 460 nurses. all individuals’ clinical characteristics, demographical data and gi symptoms were recorded. anxiety and depression were assessed using the depression, anxiety and stress scale-21 (dass-21) questionnaire. multiple logistic regression analyses were used. data were analyzed using spss software, version 16 and graphpad prism software, version 8.0.1, was used to design graphs.results: the mean age of participants was 30.08±7.43 years and 441 were females. their mean scores of depression and anxiety were 2.50±4.53 and 4.57±5.59, respectively. the prevalence rates of gi symptoms, depression, and anxiety among nurses were 16.7%, 10.2% and 25.4%, respectively. the frequencies of depression and anxiety were significantly higher among nurses with more work experience (p<0.05). among those with fixed shifts and upper education, anxiety was more prevalent. the most frequent gi symptom was abdominal pain (5.9%). depression and anxiety were significantly associated with gi symptoms (p<0.05). a significant association between work experience and the likelihood of experiencing depression (odds ratio [or]=3.95, 95% ci: 1.63- 9.57, p=0.002) and anxiety (or=1.67, 95% ci: 1.02- 2.7, p=0.041) was observed.conclusion: the study revealed the association between depression and anxiety with gi symptoms among nurses that have been increased by years of working.