Table 4.
Clinical data and health care behaviors in the functionally constipated participants (n = 214) in the questionnaire by type of constipation (IBS-C, FC-R, and FC—see text for definitions). Data are unweighted.
| IBS-C, N = 64 | FC-R, N = 36 | FC, N = 114 | Statistic# | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANOVA | Post hoc test | ||||||
| 1-2 | 1–3 | 2-3 | |||||
| Constipation characteristics | |||||||
| Duration of C (in years) | 9.1 ± 1.4 | 9.6 ± 2.4 | 8.6 ± 1.2 | n.s. | — | — | — |
| To doctor for C: yes | 13 | 2 | 15 | n.s. | — | — | — |
| Medication for C: yes | 21 | 6 | 23 | n.s. | — | — | — |
| <3 stools/w: yes | 27 | 19 | 32 | p = 0.004 | n.s. | ∗ | ∗∗ |
| Straining: yes | 51 | 20 | 65 | p = 0.006 | ∗ | ∗∗ | n.s. |
| Hard stools: yes | 54 | 28 | 79 | n.s. | — | — | — |
|
| |||||||
| Health care behaviors | |||||||
| Current medication: yes | 11 | 8 | 11 | n.s. | — | — | — |
| Does it help∗: yes | 11 | 8 | 11 | n.s. | — | — | — |
| Side effects∗: yes | 14 (11) | 5 | 11 | n.s. | — | — | — |
| Changed diet: yes | 41 | 21 | 36 | p < 0.001 | n.s. | ∗∗∗ | ∗∗ |
| Sick leave for C: yes | 4 | 0 | 6 | n.s.+ | — | — | — |
| Inpatient for C: yes | 0 | 0 | 2 | n.s.+ | — | — | — |
| CAM for C: yes | 13 | 4 | 6 | p = 0.008 | n.s. | ∗∗ | n.s. |
| Currently working: yes | 43 | 28 | 78 | n.s. | — | — | — |
| Yes: clean WC available∗∗ | 37 | 25 | 65 | n.s.+ | — | — | — |
| Yes: WC visit any time∗∗ | 12 | 10 | 32 | n.s. | — | — | — |
C: constipation; CAM: complementary and alternative medicine; #ANOVA: univariate, 3 groups, or chi-square: “IBS” versus “functional constipation” (FC-R + FC): only in case of significance, pairwise post hoc comparisons; ∗only those who take meds; ∗∗only those who are working; ∗∗∗post hoc testing: ∗∗∗ p < 0.001; ∗∗ p < 0.01; ∗ p < 0.05; +Fisher's Exact Test; n.s.: not significant.