Table 2.

Evaluation of potential risk factors for chronic constipation

Potential risk factor	Agreement (%)
	Not a risk factor	Co-factor	Independent
Socio-demographic and lifestyle
Poor diet	–	10	90
Female sex	0	13	88
Increasing age	–	100	0
Shift work	10	87	3
Obesity	–	84	16
Lack of exercise	–	81	19
Low socioeconomic status	19	81	0
Institutional living	–	78	22
Ethnicity	87	13	–
Unemployment	71	29	–
Medical history
Metabolic conditions such as hypercalcaemia	–	0	100
Connective tissue diseases such as scleroderma	–	11	89
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or joint hypermobility syndrome	–	16	84
History of childhood constipation*	0	23	77
Hypothyroidism	–	29	71
Diabetes mellitus	16	84	–
Pregnancy	–	71	29
Family history of constipation*	100	–	–
Neurological conditions
Multiple sclerosis	–	7	94
Degenerative central nervous system conditions such as Parkinson’s disease	2	22	76
Peripheral nerve injuries such as cauda equina syndrome	0	24	76
Spinal cord disorders such as spinal trauma	0	26	74
Cognitive impairment (any cause)	–	78	22
Previous stroke	–	77	23
Mental health
Eating disorders	–	7	94
History of abuse (sexual, physical, or neglect)	–	10	90
Neurodiverse conditions such as autism**	–	22	78
Severe endogenous depression	–	87	13
Surgical history
Previous rectal resection	0	0	100
Reconstructive surgery for congenital malformations such as Hirschsprung or anorectal agenesis	4	22	74
Previous gynaecological surgery	–	78	22
Previous abdominal surgery such as appendicectomy or cholecystectomy	89	11	–
Medications
Anticholinergic agents	–	0	100
Opioid analgesia	0	12	88
Calcium channel blockers	16	81	3
5-HT3 receptor antagonist	19	74	7
Bile acid sequestrants	23	71	7
Cation-containing agents	13	71	16

*Added following round 1

**Added following round 3