Background: Physicians must know constipation perception and constipation misperception (CM) of patients. CM can be defined as a failure to identify the six symptoms of constipation, including infrequency, straining, hard stool, incomplete evacuation, anorectal obstruction, or manual maneuver. The current study aimed to recognize the prevalence of CM among adults and its relationship with demographics and other clinical features.
Methodology: The study included 385 self-reported constipated subjects. The prevalence of CM for each constipation symptom was estimated, and the participants were classified into nil (0), low (1-2), mid (3-4), and high (5-6) level CM subgroups according to the number of misperceived symptoms.
Results: Highest rate of CM was observed for manual maneuver (46.5%), followed by an anorectal obstruction (43.9%), stool infrequency (36.6%), incomplete evacuation (21.6%), hard stool (22.8%), and straining (21.4%). Among the nil (24.4%), low (44.2%), mid (16.6%), and high-level (14.8%) subgroups, there were significant differences in body mass index and range of symptoms experienced at the statistical significance of
Key words: Constipation, perception, constipation misperception, Al-Ahsa
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