Are quality of life, functional capacity, and urinary incontinence associated with fecal incontinence? The Fibra-BR Study

Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence of fecal incontinence and its association with clinical, functional, and cognitive-behavioral variables, medication use, frailty, falls, and quality of life in community-dwelling older adults (aged 65 years or older). Methods: Cross-sectional, multicenter study carried out across 16 Brazilian cities. The question “In the last 12 months, did you experience fecal incontinence or involuntary passage of stool?” was defined as the indicator variable for fecal incontinence. Bivariate analyses were carried out to assess the prevalence of fecal incontinence and sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, cognition, functional capacity, depression, frailty, quality of life, and falls. Logistic regression analysis was also performed, with fecal incontinence as the dependent variable. Results: Overall, 6855 subjects were evaluated; 66.56% were female, 52.93% white, and the mean age was 73.51 years. The prevalence of fecal incontinence was 5.93%. It was associated with worse self-care (OR 1.78 [1.08–2.96]), dependence for basic activities of daily living (OR 1.29 [1.01–1.95]), and urinary incontinence (OR 4.22 [3.28–5.41]). Furthermore, the absence of polypharmacy was identified as a protective factor (OR 0.61 [0.44–0.85]). Conclusion: The overall prevalence of fecal incontinence was 5.93%. On logistic regression, one quality of life variable, dependence for basic activities of daily living, and polypharmacy were significantly associated with fecal incontinence.