Table 1.
Characteristics of all participants (independent of complaints), participants with constipations and participants with diarrhoea, and comparisons between subjects with and without diarrhoea and with and without constipation.
| Characteristics | All participants n = 4622 |
Participants with constipation n = 640 |
Participants with diarrhoea n = 407 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 49.4 (13.8) | 52.2 (15.1)*** | 50.7 (13.7)† |
| Gender (male) (%) | 43.6 | 21.3*** | 50.4** |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) [0.2%] | 26.9 (4.2) | 26.1(4.1)*** | 27.2 (4.1)* |
| Cohabiting (%) [14.9%] | 89.3 | 87.9 | 86.2* |
| Years of education [1.0%] | 12.2 (3.5) | 12.0 (3.5) † | 11.7 (3.4) * |
| Physical activity (breathless) (%) [7.2%] <1 hr/1-2 hrs/>3 hrs a week | 58.8/27.0/14.2 | 60.9/27.7/11.4 * | 60.6/26.9/12.5 |
| Cups of coffee/day [1.0%] | 3.7 (2.8) | 3.4 (2.6) * | 3.8 (2.9) |
| Frequency of use of alcohol ¤ [0.8%] | 4.4 (1.7) | 4.1 *** (1.7) | 4.6 * (1.7) |
| Use of alcohol >1 time/week (%) | 10.6 | 8.2 * | 12.9 † |
| Smoking habits (%) [0.6%] Never/Past/Current | 44.5/27.2/28.3 | 46.1/27.4/26.5 | 35.9/31.4/32.7 *** |
| Asthma (%) [2.1%] | 8.7 | 10.6 * | 9.8 |
| Allergic rhinitis (%) [15.4%] | 12.9 | 13.6 | 13.5 |
| Bronchitis (%) [3.5%] | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.5 |
| Diabetes (%) [2.5%] | 2.1 | 3.3 * | 3.4 † |
| Osteoporosis (%) [3.3%] | 2.4 | 4.7 *** | 3.7 † |
| Myocardial infarction (%) [2.4%] | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.7 |
| Angina pectoris (%) [2.4%] | 3.7 | 6.1 * | 4.2 |
| Cerebral stroke (%) [2.5%] | 2.0 | 3.1 * | 3.7 * |
| Epilepsy (%) [0.8%] | 1.6 | 2.4 † | 1.7 |
| Multiple sclerosis (%) [4.0%] | 0.5 | 1.5 ** | 0.7 |
| Musculoskeletal complaints § | 2.2 (2.2) | 2.6 (2.4) *** | 2.7 (2.4) *** |
| HSCL 10 # [6.4%] | 1.3 (0.4) | 1.4 (0.5) *** | 1.4 (0.5) *** |
| Use of drugs (Yes) (%) | 62.5 | 72,5 *** | 70.3 *** |
| Number of drugs | 1.34 (1.56) | 1.64 (1.67) *** | 1.70 (1.78)*** |
| Number of drugs (%) 0 drug/1 drug/2 or 3 drugs/≥4 | 37.5/28.3/24.5/9.8 | 27.5/30.3/29.7/12.5*** | 29.7/29.0/25.8/15.5*** |
The results are given as number of subjects, proportion (in percentage) or mean (with SD in brackets) and the proportion of missing data to each question in square brackets.
† = p < 0.20; * = p < 0.05; ** = p < 0.01; *** = p < 0.001.
¤ Frequency of use of alcohol: 8 point ordinal scale: 1 = never used to 8 = 4-7 times a week
§ Musculoskeletal complaints: Sum score (six location and intensity) 0-12
# HSCL 10: Hopkins Symptom Check List 10 (Mood disorders) 1-4