RESUMO
Background: Constipation is commonly encountered in clinical practice. The global population is witnessing a rapid increase in its occurrence
Objectives: Since there is paucity of data in Saudi Arabia, there is a need to assess its prevalence in Saudi population. This study was performed as a pilot to determine the symptoms and prevalence of constipation among adult population of Riyadh city
Materials and Methods: A questionnaire based cross sectional survey was done through twitter among Riyadh based accounts. The study was conducted among 388 adults older than 20 years, between November 2016 and January 2017. For the diagnosis of constipation three criteria were used; self-perception, Rome III and Bristol's criteria
Results: Our study showed that the prevalence of constipation in general population is 43%, 60% and 25% according to the three criteria, respectively. Females tend to have greater prevalence than males though not statistically significant. Multivariate analysis showed low dietary intake of fruits and vegetables, middle age [40-49years], and strained defecation significantly associated with constipation. As per Bristol's criteria the most common stool form was Type 3 [sausage shaped with cracked surface]
Conclusion: These findings suggest high prevalence of constipation among Saudi population. A wider margin of variation in rates by the three criteria is obtained
Limitation: This twitter based survey may only be considered as a pilot study and is non-representative of general population