Constipation among women healthcare professionals working at the University Clinics of Kinshasa: prevalence, habitus, and risk factors

Document Type : Original Clinical

Authors

1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Clinics of Kinshasa, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

2 Laboratory of Functional Anatomy - Faculty of Motor Sciences – Université Libre de Bruxelles - Brussels, Belgium.

3 School of Health Sciences (HESAV), University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO)- Lausanne, Switzerland.

4 Laboratory of Anatomy, Biomechanics and Organogenesis - Faculty of Medicine – Université Libre de Bruxelles - Brussels, Belgium.

Abstract

Objective: The aim is to assess the prevalence and clinical characteristics of constipation, as well as the lifestyle habits of women in healthcare professions, to improve the management of this health condition. 
    
Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January 3 to April 3, 2024, among 100 women healthcare professionals working at the University Clinics of Kinshasa. They were women aged 18 years and older, either employed or in training, in apparently good health, and who had given their consent to participate. The questionnaire contained data on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, lifestyle habits, and two validated scales: the Bristol Scale and the Knowles, Eckersley, and Scott Symptom Scale (KESS). Mann-Whitney U and Chi-squared tests were used for comparisons. Binary logistic regression was used to identify factors influencing constipation. The significance level was set at 5%.
Results: The prevalence of constipation was 44% according to the KESS and 43% according to the Bristol scale. Constipated women were more likely to adopt an improper defecation position (p=0.005) and were less likely to have a bowel movement when they felt the urge or at set times (p<0.001). They used institutional toilets less frequently (p<0.001). They drank less water (p < 0.001) and did not engage in physical activity (p = 0.037). In the multivariate analysis, delaying bowel movements when the urge was felt (aOR: 209.6) and an increased daily water intake (aOR: 0.42) were identified as predictive factors of constipation.
Conclusion: Constipation was common among these women. They had poor defecatory and dietary habits, which influenced constipation.

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Sara Salem (Professor of internal medicine, gastroenterology, and hepatology unit), Mohamed Emara (Professor of gastroenterology, hepatology, and infectious diseases department), and Amany Mohamed (Professor of family medicine and biostatistician) were peer reviewers. E- Editor: Salem Youssef Mohamed, Osama Ahmed Khalil, Amany Mohammed. Copyright ©. This open-access article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). It may be used, distributed, or reproduced in other forums, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited. The original publication in this journal must be cited according to accepted academic practice. Disclaimer: The authors' claims in this article are solely their own and do not necessarily represent their affiliated organizations or those of the publisher, the editors, and the reviewers. Any product evaluated in this article or its manufacturer's claim is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher. Ethics approval A written informed consent was submitted to each woman, allowing her to give her agreement to participate in the study. Ethical clearance, under number ESP/CE/236/2019, dated September 17, 2019, was obtained in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the conduct of this study. All participants provided informed consent to be enrolled in the study. Data and materials availability: The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funding: This study had no funding from any source. This work was conducted following the STROBE guidelines. Authors' contributions: Andy-Muller Luzolo Nzinga, Madeleine Ntumba, and Boniface Kamanga revised the results and shared them during the manuscript writing and editing process. François Njimbu, Jeanne Bertuit, and Véronique Feipel conceived the study and analyzed the data. Andy-Muller Luzolo Nzinga, Madeleine Ntumba, and Boniface Kamanga conceived the idea, contributed to interpreting the results, and revised the manuscript. Andy-Muller Luzolo Nzinga designed the study and conducted the data analysis. François Njimbu, Jeanne Bertuit, and Véronique Feipel conducted clinical studies, collected data, and wrote the manuscript in collaboration with others. Madeleine Ntumba, Boniface Kamanga collected data, analyzed results, and prepared the manuscript. All authors read, revised, and approved the final manuscript. Acknowledgments: Not applicable.

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