Functional bowel disorders are frequent in the general population. In order to determine the prevalence, determinant factors and attitudes of the adult and healthy individuals with respect of the digestive symptoms, a prospective and transversal survey was carried out among the population of Lima city between january and april of 1989. Inclusion criteria were: apparently healthy, age between 18 and 60 yr, no analphabet; and the exclusion criteria were: having been diagnosed of systemic and for digestive organic disease, and regular ingestion of drugs. 911 individuals were interviewed. After exclusion of 51,860 persons were considered for the study, 427 males and 433 females; 428 from the medium socioeconomic level and 432 from the lower. A prevalence of 85.9% of normal individual with digestive symptoms was found, with a higher frequency in females and the low socioeconomic level (p less than 0.001). Vomit, early gastric fullness, non epigastric abdominal pain, constipation and proctalgia were significantly related to female sex and bad taste, regurgitation, early gastric fullness, dyspepsia to some foods, constipation and diarrhea were related to low socioeconomic level. Dysuria, as associated symptom, was frequent in females (p less than 0.001) and dysuria and lumbalgia in the low socioeconomic level (p less than 0.001 and p less than 0.001 respectively). 18.1% of the individuals asked for medical consultation, 14.9% used medical prescriptions, 19.4% had automedication and 41.95 used folk remedies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)