Werth Barry L, Williams Kylie A, Pont Lisa G
Sydney Nursing School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Discipline of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2015 May-Jun;60(3):418-24. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2015.02.004. Epub 2015 Feb 16.
Little is known about laxative use, the association of constipation with laxative use, risk factors for constipation and how each of these changes over time in the community-dwelling elderly.
The aim was to explore the prevalence of laxative use and of self-reported constipation, and identify risk factors (including age) associated with constipation, in a cohort of community-dwelling elderly residents.
Data from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ALSA) was used to compare differences in constipation and laxative use in the community-dwelling elderly between 1992-1993 and 2003-2004.
Relevant data was available for 239 ALSA participants. The prevalence of self-reported constipation increased from 14% in 1992-1993 to 21% in 2003-2004. There was a corresponding increase in the prevalence of laxative use from 6% to 15% over the same period. At both time points, females reported a higher prevalence of both constipation and laxative use however the female:male prevalence ratios decreased over time indicating higher increases in the prevalence of each among males. Persistent chronic constipation occurred in 9% of the cohort. The association between laxative use and self-reported constipation was poor and laxative use was associated with self-reported constipation in less than a third of cases.
The prevalence of both constipation and laxative use increases with age in the elderly, and these increases are greater for males than for females. Discrepancies between self-reported constipation and laxative use may suggest sub-optimal management of constipation in the community-dwelling elderly and further work is needed to fully understand this.
对于社区居住老年人的泻药使用情况、便秘与泻药使用的关联、便秘的危险因素以及这些因素如何随时间变化，人们了解甚少。
旨在探讨社区居住老年居民队列中泻药使用和自我报告便秘的患病率，并确定与便秘相关的危险因素（包括年龄）。
利用澳大利亚老龄化纵向研究（ALSA）的数据，比较1992 - 1993年和2003 - 2004年社区居住老年人便秘和泻药使用情况的差异。
有239名ALSA参与者的相关数据。自我报告便秘的患病率从1992 - 1993年的14%上升至2003 - 2004年的21%。同期泻药使用的患病率相应地从6%增至15%。在两个时间点，女性报告的便秘和泻药使用患病率均较高，但女性与男性的患病率比值随时间下降，表明男性中每种情况的患病率增长幅度更大。9%的队列发生持续性慢性便秘。泻药使用与自我报告便秘之间的关联较弱，不到三分之一的病例中泻药使用与自我报告便秘有关。
老年人中便秘和泻药使用的患病率均随年龄增加，且男性的增幅大于女性。自我报告便秘与泻药使用之间的差异可能表明社区居住老年人便秘的管理欠佳，需要进一步开展工作以充分了解这一情况。
