Table 1.
Demographic Data of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients and Diseased-controls
| Variables | IBS patients | Controls | t score | χ2 score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (mean ± SD, yr) | 46.3 ± 13.1 | 45.0 ± 13.0 | 0.95a | |
| Sex (% female) | 104 (53.6%) | 104 (53.6%) | 0.0a | |
| Bowel habit type (n) | ||||
| IBS-D | 91 | NA | ||
| IBS-C | 60 | NA | ||
| IBS-M | 37 | NA | ||
| IBS-U | 6 | NA | ||
| Education (n) | 4.6a | |||
| Elementary school | 10 | 6 | ||
| Junior high school | 14 | 13 | ||
| Senior high school | 37 | 52 | ||
| University or college | 109 | 96 | ||
| Post-graduate | 24 | 27 | ||
a
Not significant.
IBS, irritable bowel syndrome; χ2, Pearson’s chi-square test; IBS-D, diarrhea-predominant IBS; IBS-C, constipation-predominant IBS; IBS-M, mixed IBS; IBS-U, unsubtyped IBS; NA, not applicable.