Table 1.
Baseline characteristics by stool types among 14,574 participants from NHANES 2005–2010.
| Characteristics | Total | Stool Consistency Types | p-Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hard 1 | Normal 2 | Soft 3 | |||
| No. of participants | 14,574 | 1128 | 11,152 | 2294 | |
| Bowel movements, % | <0.0001 | ||||
| 1–2 times/week | 516 (3.3) | 123 (11.0) | 327 (2.7) | 66 (2.8) | |
| 3–6 times/week | 1664 (12.1) | 217 (21.1) | 1272 (12.1) | 175 (7.2) | |
| 7 times/week | 7386 (53.0) | 487 (43.8) | 5942 (55.6) | 957 (42.7) | |
| 8–21 times/week | 4807 (30.4) | 291 (23.4) | 3519 (28.8) | 997 (43.2) | |
| >21 times/week | 201 (1.2) | 10 (0.6) | 92 (0.8) | 99 (4.1) | |
| Age, years | 46.7 ± 0.3 | 45.7 ± 0.5 | 46.5 ± 0.4 | 48.3 ± 0.5 | <0.0001 |
| Females% | 7402 (51.1) | 777 (71.7) | 5353 (48.6) | 1272 (55.0) | <0.0001 |
| Race/Ethnicity% | <0.0001 | ||||
| non-Hispanic Black | 2890 (10.9) | 257 (14.6) | 2175 (10.4) | 458 (12.0) | |
| non-Hispanic White | 7184 (71.1) | 488 (64.8) | 5700 (72.6) | 996 (65.6) | |
| Mexican American | 2677 (8.2) | 216 (9.2) | 1948 (7.6) | 513 (10.9) | |
| Others | 1823 (9.8) | 167 (11.4) | 1329 (9.4) | 327 (11.5) | |
| Smoking status% | 0.0001 | ||||
| Never | 7651 (52.8) | 670 (59.1) | 5846 (52.9) | 1135 (48.8) | |
| Former smoker | 3703 (24.9) | 242 (20.9) | 2859 (25.1) | 602 (25.8) | |
| Current smoker | 3215 (22.3) | 216 (20.0) | 2443 (21.9) | 556 (25.4) | |
| Current drinker% | 10,414 (75.9) | 678 (65.1) | 8164 (77.3) | 1572 (73.7) | |
| Recreational physical activity% | <0.0001 | ||||
| Low or never | 5720 (47.8) | 495 (53.1) | 4130 (45.6) | 1095 (56.2) | |
| Moderate | 2657 (28.4) | 183 (26.5) | 2069 (29.3) | 405 (24.4) | |
| Vigorous | 1965 (23.8) | 131 (20.4) | 1582 (25.1) | 252 (19.3) | |
| BMI kg/m2 | 28.7 ± 0.1 | 27.8 ± 0.3 | 28.5 ± 0.1 | 30.2 ± 0.2 | <0.0001 |
| Underweight | 219 (1.6) | 24 (1.9) | 167 (1.7) | 28 (1.1) | <0.0001 |
| Normal weight | 3919 (29.8) | 361 (36.0) | 3075 (30.2) | 483 (24.6) | |
| Overweight | 4965 (33.7) | 371 (33.2) | 3857 (34.4) | 737 (29.9) | |
| Obesity | 5336 (34.9) | 360 (28.8) | 3958 (33.8) | 1018 (44.4) | |
| Dietary fiber g * | 16.3 ± 0.2 | 14.1 ± 0.3 | 16.6 ± 0.2 | 16.8 ± 0.2 | <0.0001 |
| Annual family income% | <0.0001 | ||||
| ≤$19,999 | 3491 (17.3) | 322 (22.4) | 2529 (16.4) | 640 (19.8) | |
| $20,000–$34,999 | 3442 (20.2) | 289 (24.3) | 2578 (19.6) | 575 (21.9) | |
| $35,000–$74,999 | 4069 (31.5) | 288 (29.8) | 3173 (31.7) | 608 (30.9) | |
| ≥$75000 | 3051 (31.0) | 176 (23.5) | 2487 (32.2) | 388 (27.4) | |
| History of chronic disease% | 6509 (40.6) | 462 (40.3) | 4860 (39.4) | 1187 (47.4) | <0.0001 |
1. Hard includes Type 1 (“Separate hard lumps, like nuts”) and Type 2 (“Like a sausage but lumpy”); 2. Normal includes Type 3 (A sausage shape with cracks in the surface) and Type 4 (“Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft”); 3. Soft includes Type 5 (“Soft blobs with clear-cut edges”), Type 6 (“Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool”) and Type 7 (“Watery, no solid pieces”). * Means ± SEs were calculated for continuous variables.