Incidence and risk factors of functional constipation among naval shipboard personnel during the distant and prolonged escort mission

Objective To investigate the incidence and risk factors of functional constipation (FC) among naval shipboard personnel during the distant and prolonged escort mission. Methods A cluster survey was made on the 285 escort personnel of a certain naval unit by using the Rome Ⅲ-MQ standard epidemiologic survey questionnaire and the Anxiety Self-Assessment Scale. Changes in the incidence of FC before and after the escort mission by using personal interview questionnaire and risk factors associated with FC incidence during prolonged deployment were explored by using multiple Logistic regression analysis. Results Two hundred seventy-seven copies of questionnaire were enrolled for the study. The prevalence rates of FC in the shipboard personnel before and during the escort mission were respectively 9.03% and 22.1%, with the latter being significantly higher than that before the escort mission(P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis indicated that anxiety, navigation and communication posts, high education background, frequent night watch and long years of sea service might be risk factors of FC for those shipboard personnel with prolonged deployment at sea. Smoking might be a protective factor of FC. Conclusions The incidence of FC among the shipboard personnel was significantly increased after prolonged sea deployment. The shipboard personnel affected by multiple risk factors were more susceptible to functional constipation. Key words: Navy vessels; Prolonged voyage; Functional constipation; Risk factors