Functional constipation frequency and related factors in İzmir

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of functional constipation in the province of Izmir and the relationship between functional constipation with OCD, personality traits and various factors. Method: This study was planned as a cross-sectional descriptive study. A total of 990 persons aged 18 years and older who applied to ASM for any reason between 11 October 2017 and 31 November 2017 were included in the study. Persons who volunteered to participate in the study were interviewed by the researcher on the basis of ROME IV criteria and OCD module in Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview and Ten Item Personality Inventory. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 22.0 package program. Mean, standard deviation for descriptive continuous variables; Frequency and percentage distributions were given for categorical variables. Chi-square test was used to compare categorical independent variables and dependent variables. The t-test was used to compare the means. ANOVA analysis was used to compare the means of independent groups. A p value of <0.05 was accepted for statistical significance. Results: A total of 990 people, 502 (50.7%) female and 488 (49.3%) male, were included in the study. The age range of the participants was between 18-78 and the average age of women was 36.44 (std = 14.571); The mean age of males was 36.94 (std = 12.854). In our study, 7% (n = 69) of the participants were in compliance with the diagnosis of FK according to ROME IV criteria and 60.9% of them were female and were quite high compared to men. Functional constipation increased with age (t = 2,619, p = 0,009). When men and women were evaluated separately according to educational status, the frequency of functional constipation was significantly higher in males with higher education level. 13% of patients with functional constipation were evaluated as OCD positive. This rate was found to be significantly higher (p = 0.003) than non-FK. Emotional balance scores of patients with FK were significantly lower than those without FK (p = 0.038). Conclusion: Our study shows that FC is a common GIS complaint in primary care. Furthermore, it shows the importance of diagnostic approach in patients presenting with constipation due to differences in treatment. The prevalence of OCD was significantly higher in the individuals with FC than in the non-FC group and the level of emotional balance was significantly lower. It should be kept in mind that psychiatric diseases and personality traits may also be the cause of this condition in individuals diagnosed with FC. Key Words: Functional constipation, obsessive compulsive disorder, ROME IV criteria, personality characteristics