The severity of symptoms is insufficient to predict major alterations to quality of life of patients with fecal incontinence or chronic constipation.

Purpose: Evaluate the impact of fecal incontinence (FI) and chronic constipation (CC) on the quality of life (QoL) in a large population and determine if a threshold of symptom scores was associated with alterations to QoL.

Methods: A total of 422 outpatients with FI (n = 186), CC (n = 186), and mixed FI-CC (n = 50) referred for anorectal manometry were included prospectively. All patients completed a set of questionnaires to evaluate the severity of FI and CC (respectively Jorge and Wexner and KESS scores) and their impact on QoL (Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI)).