Constipation Prevalence Among Female Students and its Relationship With Lifestyle Habits

Aim: To evaluate prevalence of constipation among female students living in a dormitory and its relationship with their lifestyle habits. Material and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with 350 female university students. The data were collected using a questionnaire titled Prevalence and Effecting Factors of Constipation and Rome II Diagnostic Criteria. Data of the study were collected with face to face interview technic between 1-5 April, 2015 and analyzed using percentages, means and chi-square significant test. Results: It was determined that only 18.9% of the students exercise regularly, 17.4% of them smoke cigarette, 59.6% of them do not consume fruit/vegetable regularly, 27.2% of them consume legumes less than once a week and 41.8% of them drink water less than 5 glasses a day. 52.2% of the students reported that they defecated every two or three days while 36.6% of them hold their stool when they are in school. According to the self-assessment of the students, 49.0% of them had constipation, however, as to the Rome II Diagnostic Criteria, 37.4% of them had constipation. Conclusion: It was found that more than 1/3 of the students have constipation problem and were associated with some lifestyle habits of the students.