Quality of life in 1870 patients with constipation and/or fecal incontinence: Constipation should not be underestimated

Abstract

Background: Quality of life is increasingly seen as important, but remains difficult to assess in patients with functional anorectal complaints.

Objective: We aimed to quantify quality of life and to analyse the symptomatic descriptors associated with a poor outcome in patients with faecal incontinence (FI) and/or constipation.

Methods: The characteristics of the patients, data from self-administered questionnaires and from physical examinations were evaluated prospectively for all cases of functional anorectal disease over a period of thirteen years. Functional anorectal disease included faecal incontinence (FI) and/or constipation. Patients with scores in the lowest quartile of the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) were considered to have suffered severe alterations to their quality of life, and were compared with the other patients.

Results: In total, 1870 patients with functional anorectal disease were included (470 with a severely altered quality of life (GIQLI < 70)). Constipation predominated (1212/1870; 65.1%) and severe FI was frequent (761/1870; 40.9%). Severely altered quality of life was significantly associated with constipation (P = 0.0001), urinary urgency and incontinence (P = 0.0001), depression (P = 0.001), diabetes (P = 0.0224), severe FI (P = 0.0001), neurological disease (P = 0.0138) and liquid stools (P = 0.0002) in multivariate analysis.

Conclusion: Several treatable factors are associated to an impaired quality of life in patients with functional anorectal disorders. Intervention studies are mandatory (stool consistency and frequency).

Keywords: Constipation; Faecal incontinence; Quality of life.