Impact of persistent constipation on health-related quality of life and mortality in older community-dwelling women

• Published in: The American journal of gastroenterology Vol. 108; no. 7; pp. 1152 - 1158
• Main Authors: Koloski, N A, Jones, M, Wai, R, Gill, R S, Byles, J, Talley, Nicholas J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wolters Kluwer Health Medical Research, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-07-2013
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Australia - epidemiology; Chronic Disease; Confidence Intervals; Constipation - mortality; Constipation - psychology; Depression - epidemiology; Female; Gastroenterology; Health Surveys; Humans; Odds Ratio; Quality of Life - psychology; Retrospective Studies; Time Factors; Australia
• ISSN: 0002-9270; 1572-0241
• DOI: 10.1038/ajg.2013.137

Very little is known about whether the reported health-related impact of constipation is worse in people who experience constipation over a long period of time vs. those with more transient symptoms. We aimed to determine the impact of persistent vs. transient constipation on health-related quality of life (QOL), depression, and mortality.
We analyzed data from 5,107 women (aged 70-75 years in 1996) who answered "Have you had constipation in the past 12 months?" in all five surveys sent out every 3 years of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.
Of the 5,107 women, 20.9, 54.1, and 24.7% reported having persistent constipation on at least 4 out of 5 surveys, transient constipation reported on 1-3 surveys, or none reported over the 15-year time frame, respectively. Women who reported persistent constipation had significantly lower scores for all domains of QOL on the SF-36 except role-emotional, and had higher levels of self-reported depression, even after adjusting for number of chronic illnesses and fluid intake. Mortality rates were increased when comparing women with no reported constipation with persistently reported constipation (8.2% vs. 11%, odds ratio = 1.32, 95% confidence interval 1.0, 1.74, P = 0.05) controlling for specific chronic illnesses.
Persistent constipation among older women is associated with poor health outcomes.