Table 2.
Functional outcomes in children and adults
| Children (8–17 years) | Adults (≥ 18 years) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patients (n = 173) | Controls (n = 147) | P † | Patients (n = 173) | Controls (n = 147) | P † | P (patients: children versus adults)† | |
| Constipation | |||||||
| Prevalence (Rome IV) | 38 (22·0) | 21 (14·3) | 0·077 | 38 (22·0) | 28 (19·0) | 0·520 | 1·000 |
| Symptoms | |||||||
| Straining | 64 (37·0) | 32 (21·8) | 0·003 | 87 (50·3) | 53 (36·1) | 0·011 | 0·013 |
| Lumpy or hard stools | 5 (2·9) | 14 (9·5) | 0·012 | 11 (6·4) | 9 (6·1) | 0·931 | 0·125 |
| Incomplete evacuation | 68 (39·3) | 13 (8·8) | < 0·001 | 82 (47·4) | 40 (27·2) | < 0·001 | 0·129 |
| Anorectal obstruction | 39 (22·5) | 17 (11·6) | 0·010 | 44 (25·4) | 25 (17·0) | 0·068 | 0·529 |
| Manual manoeuvres | 0 (0) | 3 (2·0) | 0·059 | 10 (5·8) | 7 (4·8) | 0·686 | 0·001 |
| < 3 bowel movements per week | 12 (6·9) | 12 (8·2) | 0·678 | 18 (10·4) | 19 (12·9) | 0·482 | 0·252 |
| Laxative use | 53 (30·6) | 6 (4·1) | < 0·001 | 9 (5·2) | 6 (4·1) | 0·636 | < 0·001 |
| Bowel management for constipation | 31 (17·9) | 1 (0·7) | < 0·001 | 14 (8·1) | 1 (0·7) | 0·002 | 0·007 |
| Faecal incontinence | |||||||
| Prevalence (Rome IV) | 65 (37·6) | 9 (6·1) | < 0·001 | 29 (16·8) | 9 (6·1) | 0·003 | < 0·001 |
| Subtypes* | |||||||
| Soiling | 60 (34·7) | 6 (4·1) | < 0·001 | 29 (16·8) | 6 (4·1) | < 0·001 | < 0·001 |
| Urge incontinence | 7 (4·0) | 2 (1·4) | 0·148 | 2 (1·2) | 3 (2·0) | 0·525 | 0·091 |
| Incontinence to solid stool | 12 (6·9) | 3 (2·0) | 0·039 | 2 (1·2) | 3 (2·0) | 0·525 | 0·006 |
| Incontinence to liquid stool | 15 (8·7) | 2 (1·4) | 0·004 | 5 (2·9) | 5 (3·4) | 0·793 | 0·021 |
| Bowel management for faecal incontinence | 19 (11·0) | 1 (0·7) | < 0·001 | 3 (1·7) | 0 (0·0) | 0·109 | 0·017 |
Values in parentheses are percentages.
*
Respondents often had various types of faecal incontinence.
†
χ2 test.