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You, Chin, and Chang: Prevalence of Constipation, Bowel Habits and Nutrient Intakes of College Students in Incheon Area
Original Article
Korean Journal of Nutrition

Korean Journal of Nutrition 2009; 42(8): 702-713.

Published online: 31 December 2009

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4163/kjn.2009.42.8.702

Prevalence of Constipation, Bowel Habits and Nutrient Intakes of College Students in Incheon Area

Jeong Soon You, Jeong Hee Chin, Kyung Ja Chang

Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Inha University, Incheon 402-751, Korea.

To whom correspondence should be addressed. (kjchang@inha.ac.kr)

Received 1 October 2009       Revised 5 November 2009       Accepted 14 November 2009

© 2009 The Korean Nutrition Society

Abstract

This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of constipation, bowel habits and nutrient intakes of college students. The subjects were 353 college students (166 males and 187 females) aged 19 to 29 years in Incheon area. The subjects were asked about bowel habits and dietary intake using questionnaires during march, 2008 and the prevalence of functional constipation (FC) was based on the Rome II criteria. The prevalence of FC in male and female students was 12.7% and 28.9%, respectively. The prevalence of self-reported constipation in male and female students was 12.0% and 36.9%, respectively. Both were higher in female students compared to male students. Among the subjects that have self-reported constipation, proportions of FC were 35.0% in male students and 55.1% in female students. Of subjects that did not self-reported constipation, the proportions of FC were 9.6% in male students and 13.6% in female students. Over 90% of respondents that self-reported constipation in male students, had neither visited a hospital and nor used laxatives or functional foods for constipation relief. Seventy five point three percent of male students, and 40.1% of female students, had a defecation frequency of over 5 times per week (p < 0.001). Ratios intaken under the estimated average requirement (EAR) of Vit A, Vit C, folic acid and Ca were over the 50% regardless of functional constipation. Mean daily consumption of total dietary fiber was 15.0 g/day in male students and 13.5 g/day in female students. According to these results, both functional constipation and self-reported constipation are more frequent in female college students and further studies are required in case-control study and related to psychological factors as well as nutrients to relieve of constipation.

Keywords: constipation, bowel habits, nutrient intakes, college students

Figures and Tables

Table 1
General characteristics of subjects
kjn-42-702-i001

1) Mean ± SD

2) Significantly different between gender by Student's t-test or chi-square test (*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001)

3) N (%)

Table 2
Anthropometric parameters of the subjects
kjn-42-702-i002

1) Mean ± SD

2) NS: Not Significantly different between normal and functional constipation by Student's t-test or chi-square test

3) Significantly different between gender by Student's t-test or chi-square test (*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001)

4) BMI: Body Mass Index, 5) N (%), 6) WHR: Waist Hip Ratio, 7) BMR: Basal Metabolic Rate

Table 3
Prevalence of functional constipation and self-reported constipation by gender
kjn-42-702-i003

1) N (%)

2) Significantly different between gender by chi-square test (*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001)

Table 4
Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for functional constipation and self-reported constipation by general characteristics
kjn-42-702-i004

1) Significantly different from male (***: p < 0.001 )

Table 5
Prevalence of symptoms compatible with functional constipation by Rome II criteria
kjn-42-702-i005

1) Often: more than 25% of the time, 2) N (%)

3) Significantly different between gender by chi-square test (*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001)

Table 6
Proportion of functional constipation in self-reported constipation
kjn-42-702-i006

1) N (%)

2) Significantly different between self-reported have and not having constipation by chi-square test (*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001)

Table 7
Duration of constipation, ever visited hospital and laxative or functional food use in self-reported constipation
kjn-42-702-i007

1) N (%), 2) NS: Not significant

Table 8
Bowel habits of the subjects
kjn-42-702-i008

1) N (%)

2) Significantly different between normal and functional constipation by chi-square test (*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001)

3) Significantly different between gender by chi-square test (*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001)

Table 9
Daily nutrient intakes of the subjects by gender and functional constipation
kjn-42-702-i009

1) Mean ± SD

2) NS: Not significantly different between normal and functional constipation by Student's t-test

3) Significantly different between gender by Student's t-test (*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001)

Table 10
Evaluation of energy intake using EER by gender and functional constipation
kjn-42-702-i010

1) EER: Estimated Energy Requirement, 2) NS: Not significant, 3) N (%)

Table 11
Evaluation of nutrient intake using DRI by gender and functional constipation
kjn-42-702-i011

1) DRI: Dietary Reference Intakes, 2) EAR: Estimated Average Requirement, 3) RI: Recommended Intake

4) UL: Tolerable Upper Intake Level

5) Significantly different between gender by chi-square test (*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001)

6) NS: Not significant different between normal and functional constipation by chi-square test

7) N (%)

Notes

This work was supported by INHA UNIVERSITY Research Grant.

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