The Bowel Health section of the mobile exam center (MEC) interview (variable name prefix BHQ) provides personal interview data on fecal incontinence and defecating function for adults age 20 years and older.
Questions BHQ010 – BHQ040 comprise the Fecal Incontinence Severity Index (FISI) (Rockwood et al, 2000) which applies a type x frequency matrix to obtain the subject’s perception of symptom severity. The four symptoms composing the index are incontinence of gas, mucus, liquid stool, and solid stool. The FISI responses are weighted on a 1-20 point severity scale and a total FISI score can be calculated.
Question BHQ060 is the Bristol Stool Form Scale. The stool consistency scale has been used in a series of studies. These studies have shown that a subject’s rating of his/her own individual stools (Probert et al, 1993) is robustly correlated with measures of how long it takes radiopaque markers to pass through the gastrointestinal tract.
This component was first administered in the NHANES in 2005.
The target sample for the questions in this section is adults age 20 years and older. Frequency counts were verified during the preparation of the file.
The Bowel Health (BHQ_E) section was administered in person in the MEC interview room to survey participants only; proxy respondents were not permitted.
For details on the administration of the Bowel Health (BHQ_E) section, please refer to the NHANES 2007-08 MEC Interviewer Exam Manual and the Bowel Health Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) Questionnaire on the NHANES website.
For details on the QA/QC process for this component, please refer to the NHANES 2007-08 Interviewer Procedure Manuals on the NHANES website.
Times per day responses to BHD050 (How often do you have bowel movements?) were converted to times per week so that all responses are in times per week units.
Survey participants with ostomies and gastrointestinal conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome are not identified in the data file.
Pregnant women were asked about their usual bowel habits when not pregnant.
Exam sample weights should be used for analyses. Please refer to the Analytic Guidelines for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues. The Analytic Guidelines are available on the NHANES website.
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 or more times a day, | 540 | 540 | |
2 | once a day, | 453 | 993 | |
3 | 2 or more times a week, | 351 | 1344 | |
4 | once a week, | 262 | 1606 | |
5 | 1-3 times a month, or | 590 | 2196 | |
6 | Never? | 2960 | 5156 | |
77 | Refused | 3 | 5159 | |
99 | Don't know | 18 | 5177 | |
. | Missing | 530 | 5707 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 or more times a day, | 6 | 6 | |
2 | once a day, | 23 | 29 | |
3 | 2 or more times a week, | 24 | 53 | |
4 | once a week, | 14 | 67 | |
5 | 1-3 times a month, or | 107 | 174 | |
6 | Never? | 4984 | 5158 | |
77 | Refused | 3 | 5161 | |
99 | Don't know | 16 | 5177 | |
. | Missing | 530 | 5707 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 or more times a day, | 12 | 12 | |
2 | once a day, | 17 | 29 | |
3 | 2 or more times a week, | 38 | 67 | |
4 | once a week, | 22 | 89 | |
5 | 1-3 times a month, or | 267 | 356 | |
6 | Never? | 4804 | 5160 | |
77 | Refused | 3 | 5163 | |
99 | Don't know | 14 | 5177 | |
. | Missing | 530 | 5707 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 or more times a day, | 4 | 4 | |
2 | once a day, | 15 | 19 | |
3 | 2 or more times a week, | 15 | 34 | |
4 | once a week, | 11 | 45 | |
5 | 1-3 times a month, or | 70 | 115 | |
6 | Never? | 5045 | 5160 | |
77 | Refused | 3 | 5163 | |
99 | Don't know | 14 | 5177 | |
. | Missing | 530 | 5707 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 to 84 | Range of Values | 5163 | 5163 | |
777 | Refused | 2 | 5165 | |
999 | Don't know | 12 | 5177 | |
. | Missing | 530 | 5707 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Type 1 (separate hard lumps, like nuts), | 132 | 132 | |
2 | Type 2 (sausage-like, but lumpy), | 288 | 420 | |
3 | Type 3 (like a sausage but with cracks in the surface), | 1226 | 1646 | |
4 | Type 4 (like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft), | 2628 | 4274 | |
5 | Type 5 (soft blobs with clear-cut edges), | 422 | 4696 | |
6 | Type 6 (fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool), | 369 | 5065 | |
7 | Type 7 (watery, no solid pieces), | 68 | 5133 | |
77 | Refused | 2 | 5135 | |
99 | Don't know | 38 | 5173 | |
. | Missing | 534 | 5707 |