Comparison of Women's Constipation Severity and Quality of Life by Laxative Use

Abstract

Purpose: This study compared women's constipation severity and quality of life (QOL) by laxative usage.
Methods: Participants were 120 women, ages 20-39, with score of 5 or more on the Constipation Assessment Scale (CAS). Sixty took laxatives and the others did not. Participants recorded their daily defecation over a period of two weeks and completed the CAS, the Constipation QOL15 (CQ15), and the SF-36 at the end of each week in this period. Intergroup and intragroup comparison data were analyzed.
Results: We excluded incomplete records and analyzed data from 89 subjects (laxative=39, non-laxative=50). There were no significant differences in CAS, number of days with normal defecation, or frequency of defecation per day. There were significant differences in QOL between groups. Laxative-takers had a higher CQ15 score overall as well as significantly higher scores on the CQ15 physical and psychosocial subscales than non-laxative-takers (high scores indicate low QOL). The former also scored lower on the SF-36 vitality and mental health subscales than the latter.
Conclusion: Despite no significant constipation severity differences, women taking laxatives had significantly lower QOL.