Table 3.
Characteristics of the Different Groups of Constipated Subjects According to the Site of Delay
| Variables | Total | Site of delay | P-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Right colon | Left colon | Rectosigmoid | |||
| Demographics | |||||
| Number | 354 (100) | 122 (34) | 150 (42) | 82 (23) | |
| Age (yr) | 46.0 ± 15.9 | 46.4 ± 17.1a | 49.7 ± 14.2b | 38.8 ± 14.5 | < 0.001 |
| Female gender | 297 (84) | 98 (80) | 125 (83) | 74 (90) | 0.163 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.5 ± 5.5 | 25.5 ± 6.0 | 25.9 ± 5.0 | 24.8 ± 5.7 | 0.397 |
| Clinical phenotype | |||||
| Functional constipation | 215 (61) | 70 (33) | 89 (41) | 56 (26) | 0.264 |
| IBS-C | 139 (39) | 52 (37) | 61 (44) | 26 (19) | |
| Defecation disorders | 243 (69) | 84 (69) | 102 (68) | 57 (70) | 0.970 |
| Scales | |||||
| LS-constipation | 6.0 ± 2.5 | 6.1 ± 2.5 | 6.0 ± 2.5 | 5.7 ± 2.5 | 0.623 |
| LS-bloating | 5.1 ± 2.9 | 5.4 ± 2.8 | 5.2 ± 2.9 | 4.6 ± 2.9 | 0.129 |
| LS-abdominal pain | 4.2 ± 2.9 | 4.6 ± 2.9c | 4.2 ± 2.8 | 3.5 ± 3.0 | 0.022 |
| Bristol stool form | 2.1 ± 1.3 | 2.2 ± 1.2 | 2.0 ± 1.3 | 2.0 ± 1.3 | 0.499 |
| CTT (hr) | |||||
| Right CTT | 22.9 ± 21.5 | 35.9 ± 27.1 | 18.4 ± 14.6 | 12.0 ± 11.0 | < 0.001 |
| Left CTT | 28.2 ± 22.4 | 17.7 ± 15.9 | 42.6 ± 22.4 | 17.2 ± 14.5 | < 0.001 |
| RSTT | 17.9 ± 17.2 | 10.0 ± 11.2 | 15.8 ± 12.7 | 33.4 ± 21.4 | < 0.001 |
| Total CTT | 69.9 ± 43.3 | 63.6 ± 42.7 | 79.0 ± 44.9 | 62.6 ± 38.3 | 0.003 |
a
P < 0.01 as compared with patients with delayed transit in the rectosigmoid area.
b
P < 0.001 as compared with patients with delayed transit in the rectosigmoid area.
c
P < 0.05 as compared with patients with delayed transit in the rectosigmoid area.
P < 0.05 was considered significant.
BMI, body mass index; IBS-C, irritable bowel syndrome with constipation; LS, Likert scale; CTT, colonic transit time; RSTT, rectosigmoid transit time. Quantitative parameters are expressed as mean ± SD and qualitative parameters are shown as n (%).