Table 1. Baseline characteristics of children with FC and healthy children.
| children with FC (n = 152) | healthy children (n = 176) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Children’s gender (boys, %) | 80 (52.6) | 89 (50.6) | |
| Children’s age (,years) | 4.2 ± 0.9 | 4.3 ± 0.8 | |
| Child-caregiver relationship,n (%) | |||
| Parents | 108 (71.1) | 124 (70.5) | |
| Grandparents | 44 (28.9) | 52 (29.5) | |
| Caregiver’s age (,years) | 36.4 ± 4.2 | 37.1 ± 3.9 | |
| Caregiver’s education level (n (%)) | |||
| ≤ 9 years | 34 (22.4) | 42 (23.9) | |
| 9–12 years | 53 (34.8) | 57 (32.4) | |
| ≥ 13 years | 65 (42.8) | 77 (43.7) | |
| Family economic status (n (%)) | |||
| ≤ 1500 yuan/individual·month | 37 (24.3) | 45 (25.6) | |
| 1500 ~ 3000 yuan/individual·month | 60 (39.5) | 68 (38.6) | |
| ≥ 3000 yuan/individual·month | 55 (36.2) | 63 (35.8) | |
| Defecation frequency (times/week) | 1.4 ± 0.5 | 5.5 ± 0.9a | |
| Non-specific abdominal pain (n (%)) | 114 (75.0) | 17 (11.2)a | |
| Duration of constipation (months) | 5.7 ± 2.3 | _ | |
| Painful defecation occurrence (n (%)) | 82 (53.9) | _ |
Notes: (1) The difference in age and defecation frequency were analyzed using an independent sample t test; all others were analyzed using the χ2 test; (2) a:p < 0.05, Children with FC vs. healthy children.