14 DAY TRIAL // Since it is an extremely embarrassing issue, discussions on fecal incontinence are avoided by many persons, but this doesn't mean the problem goes away, on the contrary.
A new research shows that fecal incontinence is prevalent among U.S. women, especially those in older age groups, those who have had numerous babies, women whose deliveries were assisted by forceps or vacuum devices, and those who have had a hysterectomy. Many women in the study who had fecal incontinence also had another medical condition, such as major depression or diabetes, and often experienced urinary incontinence in addition to FI. The findings are reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
"Increased attention should be paid to this debilitating condition, especially considering the aging of our population and the available treatments for FI. It is very important to the health of women that clinicians are aware of the prevalence of FI and can treat their patients accordingly," says senior author Dee E. Fenner, M.D., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and director of gynecology, at the University of Michigan Medical School.
The study, led by the University of Washington, was a postal survey of 6,000 women, ages 30-90, in Washington state (the condition also affects men, but only women were involved in the study).
Of the 64 percent who responded, the prevalence of FI was found to be 7.2 percent, with the occurrence increasing notably with age. FI was defined as loss of liquid or solid stool at least monthly.
FI can occur after damage to the anal sphincter muscles or scarring to the rectum, causing it to be unable to hold stool. Ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and some other conditions can cause this scarring to occur. Another contributing factor can be the stretching of the nerves that supply the sphincters, called the pudendal nerves, which can occur with childbirth, old age, trauma, or with medical diseases that affect the nerves, such as diabetes. Without intact nerves to stimulate the sphincters, the sphincters may undergo atrophy.