Prevalence of fecal incontinence in a cohort of systemic sclerosis patients within a regional referral network

BackgroundThe prevalence of gastrointestinal involvement in systemic sclerosis is higher than 75%. The estimated prevalence of fecal incontinence varies from 22% to 77%, but suffers from recruitment bias and patient reluctance. Our goal was to evaluate the prevalence of fecal incontinence in systemic sclerosis, and to identify associated risk factors.MethodsPatients were recruited in the referral systemic sclerosis network of the Lyon University Hospitals, using self-administered questionnaires including constipation, fecal incontinence and Bristol Stool scales, quality of life, anxiety and depression. The cohort was compared with the historical ORALIA cohort that established the prevalence of fecal incontinence in the general population of the Rhone-Alpes region (France).ResultsSeventy-seven patients were included (mean age: 60 years, range: 32–84), and 86% were female. These were compared to 153 ORALIA individuals matched for age and sex. Fecal incontinence was present in 38% of patients and 6% of the g...