Prevalence, repercussion and factors associated with intestinal constipation in women in Florianópolis

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal constipation and its association with sociodemographic and health-related factors in 605 adult women of metropolitan Florianópolis/SC who underwent screening tests for cervical cancer. This is a cross-sectional study in which intestinal constipation was evaluated by Rome III criteria. We used Poisson regression considering p < 0.05. Results: The prevalence of intestinal constipation according to Rome III was 25.1%. Approximately 80% of women with constipation reported that the problem caused medium/high interference in their lives. In univariate analysis, constipation was associated with: income per capita lower than 1 minimum wage, a poor health state, body dissatisfaction, physical activity during personal commuting and self-report of hemorrhoids. In multivariate analysis and following a hierarchical model, the association persisted only for self-report of hemorrhoids (PR = 4.45, CI = 3.49–5.68). Coping strategies for intestinal constipation in the health care of women are suggested. Resumo: O objetivo foi verificar a prevalência de constipação e sua associação com fatores sociodemográficos e relacionados à saúde em 605 mulheres adultas da grande Florianópolis/SC que realizaram exames de rastreamento de câncer de colo uterino. Este é um estudo transversal em que a constipação foi avaliada por meio dos critérios Roma III. Utilizou-se regressão de Poisson para p