Prevalence of functional dyspepsia in medical students: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Dyspepsia is defined as a syndrome that comprises a series of chronic and recurrent disorders in the upper digestive tract. According to a meta-analysis carried out in 2014, the worldwide prevalence of dyspepsia is 20.8%, being the highest prevalence found in South America with 37.7%. It was found that there are populations that present a higher prevalence of dyspepsia that is associated with high levels of stress, such as those that can be found in medical students, so It would be important to evaluate the population of medical students, since the medical career, by its nature, represents a great academic load on the student who may later suffer from gastrointestinal diseases. Review question What is the prevalence of functional dyspepsia in medical students? Objective To determine the prevalence of dyspepsia in medical students and to assess genre differences Methods We will conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis. We will use the following search engines: PubMed, Global Index Medicus and EMBASE using search terms related to functional dyspepsia and medical students. We will include observational studies (either cross-sectional or cohort studies) that assessed the prevalence of functional dyspepsia among this particular population. Conclusion Currently, no systematic review or meta-analysis has been conducted about the prevalence of functional dyspepsia among this population of students. The aim of this work is to summarize the available literature regarding this topic.