Sonnenberg A, Koch T R
Department of Medicine, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53295.
Dis Colon Rectum. 1989 Jan;32(1):1-8. doi: 10.1007/BF02554713.
In the present study, the epidemiology of constipation in the United States and an assessment of its impact on national health are presented. This analysis was based on four different surveys, i.e., the National Health Interview Survey, the National Hospital Discharge Survey, the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, and the Vital Statistics of the United States. These surveys have estimated that over 4 million people in the United States have frequent constipation, corresponding to a prevalence of about 2 percent. Constipation was the most common digestive complaint in the United States, outnumbering all other chronic digestive conditions. Cathartics and laxatives were prescribed to 2 to 3 million patients yearly by general and family practitioners or internists. In 92,000 annual hospitalizations, constipation was listed among the discharge diagnoses. About 900 persons die annually from diseases associated with or related to constipation. Constipation was three times more common in women than men. It showed a marked increase after the age of 65 years. It appeared to affect nonwhites 1.3 times more frequently than whites. In addition, constipation was more frequent in people living in the South than elsewhere in the United States, and in people from families with low income or brief education of the head of family than in people from families with high income or a high educational level of their family head. These data suggest that there are other factors involved in the cause of constipation in addition to dietary fiber content and psychogenic influences. The frequent occurrence of constipation and its impact on public health stress the need for further studies devoted to the epidemiology and basic pathophysiology of this condition.
在本研究中，介绍了美国便秘的流行病学情况及其对国民健康影响的评估。该分析基于四项不同的调查，即国民健康访谈调查、国家医院出院调查、国家门诊医疗护理调查以及美国生命统计数据。这些调查估计，美国有超过400万人经常便秘，患病率约为2%。便秘是美国最常见的消化系统疾病，比所有其他慢性消化系统疾病的患者数量都多。普通科医生、家庭医生或内科医生每年为200万至300万患者开泻药和缓泻剂。在每年9.2万例住院病例中，便秘被列为出院诊断之一。每年约有900人死于与便秘相关的疾病。便秘在女性中的发生率是男性的三倍。65岁以后便秘发生率显著上升。便秘在非白人中的发生率似乎比白人高1.3倍。此外，居住在美国南部的人比其他地区的人更容易便秘，与家庭收入低或户主受教育程度低的家庭相比，家庭收入高或户主受教育程度高的家庭中的人便秘发生率更低。这些数据表明，除了膳食纤维含量和心理因素外，便秘的病因还涉及其他因素。便秘的频繁发生及其对公众健康的影响凸显了进一步研究该疾病流行病学和基本病理生理学的必要性。
