Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study population from national health and nutrition examination survey 2005–2010 (using the stool consistency definition of constipation), weighted
| Characteristics | Overall [n(%)] | Constipation [n(%)] | No constipation [n(%)] | P-valueb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total participants | 11,785 (100) | 9.1 | 90.9 | < 0.001 |
| Sex | < 0.001 | |||
| Male | 5981 (49.6) | 25.6 | 52.0 | |
| Female | 5804 (50.4) | 74.4 | 48.0 | |
| Age (years) | 46.00 ± 0.34 | 43.00 ± 0.55 | 46.00 ± 0.36 | < 0.001 |
| 20–29 | 1939 (18.3) | 25.3 | 17.6 | < 0.001 |
| 30–39 | 1986 (18.4) | 17.1 | 18.5 | |
| 40–49 | 2162 (21.5) | 20.3 | 21.6 | |
| 50–59 | 1878 (19.3) | 17.8 | 19.5 | |
| 60–69 | 1927 (12.2) | 9.6 | 12.5 | |
| 70–79 | 1255 (7.0) | 5.9 | 7.1 | |
| > 80 | 638 (3.3) | 3.9 | 3.2 | |
| Ethnicity | < 0.001 | |||
| Mexican American | 2091 (7.8) | 8.1 | 7.7 | |
| Other Hispanic | 936 (4.1) | 4.8 | 4.0 | |
| Non-Hispanic White | 6038 (72.9) | 67.0 | 73.5 | |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 2259 (10.2) | 15.9 | 9.6 | |
| Other Race - Including Multi-Racial | 461 (5.1) | 4.2 | 5.2 | |
| Education | < 0.001 | |||
| Below high school | 3136 (17.3) | 21.2 | 16.9 | |
| High school | 2820 (24.1) | 29.6 | 23.5 | |
| Above high school | 5829 (58.6) | 49.2 | 59.6 | |
| PIR | 3.23 ± 0.04 | 2.34 ± 0.07 | 3.33 ± 0.04 | < 0.001 |
| < 2 | 5297 (31.2) | 42.4 | 30.1 | < 0.001 |
| ≥ 2 | 6488 (68.8) | 57.6 | 69.9 | |
| Diabetes | 0.051 | |||
| Yes | 1270 (7.6) | 7.9 | 7.5 | |
| No | 10,300 (90.8) | 91.5 | 90.7 | |
| Borderline | 215 (1.7) | 0.7 | 1.8 | |
| Smoking | < 0.001 | |||
| Yes | 5675 (47.6) | 42.2 | 48.1 | |
| No | 6110 (52.4) | 57.8 | 51.9 | |
| Alcohol use | < 0.001 | |||
| Yes | 8586 (77.0) | 66.9 | 78.0 | |
| No | 3199 (23.0) | 33.1 | 22.0 | |
| Hypertension | 0.015 | |||
| Yes | 4040 (30.0) | 26.7 | 30.3 | |
| No | 7745 (70.0) | 73.3 | 69.7 | |
| Sleep duration | < 0.001 | |||
| < 5 h/night | 685 (4.9) | 6.4 | 4.7 | |
| 5–6 h/night | 3931 (31.3) | 36.1 | 30.8 | |
| Normal | 6343 (57.4) | 49.2 | 58.2 | |
| ≥ 9 h/night | 826 (6.5) | 8.3 | 6.3 | |
| Depression | < 0.001 | |||
| No | 10,600 (91.7) | 84.5 | 92.5 | |
| Yes | 1185 (8.3) | 15.5 | 7.5 | |
| Physical activity | 0.025 | |||
| Vigorous physical activity | 2831 (27.0) | 22.8 | 27.4 | |
| No vigorous activity | 8954 (73.0) | 77.2 | 72.6 | |
| Daily dietary intake | ||||
| Energy (kcal/d) | 2027 (1511,2722) | 1796 (1361,2440) | 2047 (1527,2758) | < 0.001 |
| Protein (gm/d) | 77.3 (55.2,106.1) | 65.4 (47.0,91.3) | 78.4 (56.2,107.6) | < 0.001 |
| Carbohydrate (gm/d) | 240.4 (176.0,326.3) | 227.8 (168.4,307.3) | 241.6 (176.9,328.5) | < 0.001 |
| Dietary fiber (gm/d) | 14.4 (9.7,20.8) | 12.4 (7.8,17.9) | 14.7 (9.9,21.1) | < 0.001 |
| Total fat (gm/d) | 75.6 (51.0,107.4) | 66.5 (44.0,93.1) | 76.8 (52.1,108.6) | < 0.001 |
| Total saturated fatty acids (gm/d) | 24.3 (15.7,36.0) | 21.8 (13.9,31.7) | 24.7 (16.0,36.4) | < 0.001 |
| Total monounsaturated fatty acids (gm/d) | 27.3 (18.2,39.6) | 23.4 (15.4,34.6) | 27.8 (18.3,40.1) | < 0.001 |
| Total polyunsaturated fatty acids (gm/d) | 15.7 (10.0,23.3) | 13.4 (8.0,19.9) | 15.9 (10.2,23.5) | < 0.001 |
| Cholesterol (mg/d) | 227 (134,384) | 194 (111,332) | 231 (137,390) | < 0.001 |
| Phosphorus (mg/d) | 1276 (927,1744) | 1101 (787,1525) | 1297 (944,1764) | < 0.001 |
| Magnesium (mg/d) | 279 (204,375) | 236 (168,323) | 283 (208,382) | < 0.001 |
| Selenium (mcg/d) | 103 (70,143) | 88 (60,119) | 105 (71,146) | < 0.001 |
| Caffeine (mg/d) | 135 (36,281) | 92 (15,240) | 140 (39,284) | 0.186 |
Continuous variables are presented as mean ± SE or median (interquartile range), and categorical variables are presented as n (%)
SE Standard error
bP-value based on survey t-test for binominal groups, and based on chi-square test in the qualitative variables. P-values in bold indicate statistical significance