Table 4.
Educational level and constipation
| Ref. | Location | Sample size | Age range (yr) | Definition of constipation | Educational level | Prevalence (%) | Odds ratio (95%CI) | P value |
| Everhart et al[67], 1989 | United States | 11204 | 25-74 | Self-report (NTP) | > 8 yr; 9-11 yr; > 12 yr | NR | 2.78; 1.35; 1 | NR |
| Talley et al[49], 1993 | United States | 690 | 30-64 | Rome I | < HS; HS; > HS | 23.3; 18.4; 18.0 | NR | NR |
| Stewart et al[68], 1999 | United States | 10018 | > 18 | Rome II | < 12 yr; 12 yr; 13-15.9 yr; > 16 yr | NR | 1; 1.49; 1.41; 1.39 | NR |
| Pare et al[45], 2001 | Canada | 1149 | > 18 | Self-report (3 mo) | Grade school; Some HS; HS; Diploma; Tech school; Some college; College; Grad school | 28.8; 35.1; 24.6; 29.4; 20.5; 25.4; 31.5; 19.6 | NR | NR |
| Pare et al[45], 2001 | Canada | 1149 | > 18 | Rome I | Grade school; Some HS; HS; Diploma; Tech school; Some college; College; Grad school | 14.3; 23.8; 18.8; 22.1; 15.0; 9.9; 17.2; 11.3 | NR | NR |
| Pare et al[45], 2001 | Canada | 1149 | > 18 | Rome II | Grade school; Some HS; HS; Diploma; Tech school; Some college; College; Grad school | 4.3; 21.7; 18.6; 18.4; 12.0; 8.6; 6.5; 10.0 | NR | NR |
| Wald et al[61], 2008 | United States | 2000 | > 15 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 24.7; 18.9; 15.4 | 1.82 (1.16, 2.86) | < 0.01 |
| Choung et al[83], 2007 | United States | 3022 | 20-95 | BDQ | < HS; HS/College; > College | NR | 1.3 (0.5, 3.1); 1.0; 0.8 (0.5, 3.1) | NS |
| Chang et al[46], 2007 | United States | 523 | 30-64 | Rome III | < HS; HS/College; > College | 16.7; 19.8; 14.8 | 0.81 (0.27, 2.46);1.00; 0.70 (0.43, 1.14) | NR |
| Choung et al[65], 2012 | United States | 2853 | > 20 | Rome II | < HS; HS/College; > College | 7.0; 26.5; 20.3 | NR | 0.002 |
| Wald et al[61], 2008 | United Kingdom | 2000 | > 15 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 9.4; 7.0; 7.3 | NR | NR |
| Wald et al[61], 2008 | France | 2000 | > 15 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 17.6; 13.0; 12.7 | 1.48 (1.01, 2.15) | < 0.05 |
| Wald et al[61], 2008 | Germany | 2000 | > 15 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 5.6; 5.5; 4.5 | NR | NR |
| Enck et al[75], 2016 | Germany | > 18 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 19.6; 15.3; 15.6 | NR | < 0.001 | |
| Ebling et al[50], 2014 | Croatia | 658 | 20-69 | Rome III | < Elementary; Elementary; High school; Bachelor; University | 50.0; 25.6; 20.2; 23.0; 23.4 | 0.278; 0.229; 0.248; 0.383 | 0.065; 0.028; 0.060; 0.178 |
| Wald et al[61], 2008 | Italy | 2000 | > 15 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 8.0; 8.1; 6.0 | NR | NR |
| Papatheodoridis et al[51], 2010 | Greece | 1000 | 15-64 | Rome III or self-report (12 mo) | Primary or less; Secondary; Higher | 18; 14; 17 | NR | 0.31 |
| Rey et al[55], 2014 | Spain | 1500 | > 18 | Rome III | Primary Secondary; University | 19; 18; 20 | NR | NR |
| Garrigues et al[60], 2004 | Spain | 349 | 18-65 | Self-report (12 mo) | Basic; Primary Secondary or more | 31.4; 26.4; 30.3 | NR | NS |
| Wald et al[59], 2010 | Argentina | 2000 | > 15 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 15.1; 13.4; 14.8 | NR | NR |
| Wald et al[59], 2010 | Colombia | 2000 | > 15 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 25.2; 21.0; 24.5 | NR | NR |
| Wald et al[59], 2010 | Brazil | 2000 | > 15 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 17.0; 15.2; 26.5 | 0.58 (0.36, 0.92) | < 0.03 |
| Wald et al[59], 2010 | China | 2100 | 15-60 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 10.2; 16.5; 14.4 | NR | NR |
| Wald et al[59], 2010 | Indonesia | 2000 | > 15 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 10.6; 13.2; 19.0 | NR | NR |
| Wald et al[59], 2010 | Korea | 2000 | > 15 | Self-report (12 mo) | < Secondary; Secondary; Tertiary | 18.1; 16.7; 16.0 | NR | NR |
| Cheng et al[57], 2003 | Hong Kong | 3282 | 18-80 | Rome II | Nil; Primary; Junior HS; HS; Matriculation; University | 14.5; 12.2; 14.8; 12.6; 14.0; 14.1 | NR | NR |
| Sorouri et al[53], 2010 | Iran | 18180 | NR | Rome III | Illiterate; < Diploma; HS diploma; University; > Masters | 2.9; 2.1; 2.5; 2.1; 1.6 | NR | NR |
| Moezi et al[52], 2018 | Iran | 9264 | 40-75 | Rome IV | Illiterate; Other | 9.0; 7.2 | NR | 0.002 |
| Howell et al[48], 2006 | Australia | 1673 | 25-64 | Rome II | Low; Low-mid; Mid-upper; High | 30.6; 31.6; 38.9; 25.1 | 1.50 (0.97, 2.31); 1.49 (1.02, 2.18); 1.91 (1.33, 2.73)1 | 0.07; 0.04; 0.001 |
1
Calculated from published data.
HS: High school; BDQ: Bowel disease questionnaire (similar to Rome criteria); NR: Not reported; NS: Not significant.