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New method for the determination of fecal consistency and its optimal value in the general population
Author(s) -
NAKAJI SHIGEYUKI,
FUKUDA SHINSAKU,
IWANE SATORU,
MURAKAMI HIDEKI,
TAMURA KEN,
MUNAKATA AKIHIRO,
SUGAWARA KAZUO
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1746.2002.t01-1-02899.x
Subject(s) - feces , consistency (knowledge bases) , population , defecation , medicine , statistics , fecal incontinence , value (mathematics) , mathematics , zoology , gastroenterology , biology , ecology , environmental health , geometry
Background: Although fecal consistency is an important factor, there has been only one study measuring this parameter. We developed a new method to measure fecal consistency and studied the relationship between fecal consistency and other fecal factors, including water content and weight.Methods: The new method is a modification of the method of Exton‐Smith and used an even balance. Subjects in the initial trial were 26 healthy women. Subsequently, fecal consistency was measured in a representative sample of the general Japanese population, in order to evaluate the optimal value to maintain large bowel function.Results: Correlations between fecal consistency and fecal water content and weight were statistically consistent, although not highly correlated with each other. The optimal mean value was around 300 cm 2 : ‘normal’ in ‘subjective defecatory state’, 295.5 cm 2 and 305.2 cm 2 ; ‘once/day’ in ‘defecation frequency’, 296.1 cm 2 and 310.2 cm 2 ; ‘soft and plump’ in ‘fecal characteristics’, 293.6 cm 2 and 298.3 cm 2 , in males and females, respectively. The coefficient of variation of this method ranged from 5.2% to 6.3%.Conclusions: This method is thought to be applicable to large‐scale epidemiological surveys. The optimal value of fecal consistency in the general population was evaluated at approximately 300 g/cm 2 . © 2002 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd