The Impact of Functional Constipation on the Quality of Life in the Elderly over 60 Years. |
Hyeok Kyu Kwon, Hyun Jin Do, Hye Jung Kim, Seung Won Oh, Youl Lee Lym, Jae Kyung Choi, Hee Kyung Joh, Hyuk Jung Kweon, Dong Yung Cho |
Department of Family Medicine, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Chungju, Korea. hyunjindo@daum.net |
60세 이상의 성인에서 기능성 변비와 삶의 질 |
권혁규, 도현진, 김혜정, 오승원, 임열리, 최재경, 조희경, 권혁중, 조동영 |
건국대학교 의학전문대학원 가정의학교실 |
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Abstract |
Background Constipation is one of the most common digestive complaints. Although, there are increased interest on the socioeconomic effect of constipation and studies associated with quality of life on constipation, there is no study about the infl uence of constipation onto quality of life (QOL) in Korea. We studied the impact of functional constipation on QOL. Methods: Between March to June 2008, person to person survey with 844 elderly aged over 60 years was performed at two senior care centers, a public health center, and secondary hospital in Seoul metrocity and Chung-ju city. The diagnosis of functional constipation was based on the Rome III criteria and QOL was measured by the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Results: The average age was 73.6 years and the prevalence rate of constipation was 20.3%. The average SF-36 score was 63.5 in total population, 57.9 in constipation group, and 64.9 in normal group. Conclusion: These results suggest that the constipation lowers QOL in adults aged over 60 years old. Further study will be necessary to explore if QOL changes according to the severity of constipation and its treatment and to assess QOL using a disease-specifi c measurement tool that can be used for Korean environment. |
Key Words:
Elderly; Constipation; Quality of Life |
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