Bowel habits before and during menses in Japanese women of climacteric age: a population based study.

A good deal of data are available on the bowel habits of pre-climacteric females during menstruation. Few studies have examined the same subject in females of climacteric age but who are still menstruating, so the present study was undertaken to examine the bowel habits in menstruating females in this age group. Subjects (n = 246) were residents of a city in northern Japan, aged from 45 to 55 years old and who were still menstruating. Their every-day state of defecation and fecal characteristics were assessed with regard to four parameters: bowel movement frequency, defecation state, fecal appearance and fecal consistency. Based on a perfect match to these four criteria, the subjects were assigned to two groups, the normal group and the constipation group, and changes were assessed by enquiring how their bowel habits differed immediately before and during menses compared with their usual state. Immediately before menstruation, in the constipation group feces became harder and looser in 22.1% and 13.7%, respectively, compared with 8.7% and 9.5% in the normal group. On the other hand, during menstruation in the constipation group, feces became harder and looser in 11.6% and 16.8%, respectively, compared with 5.7% and 8.9% in the normal group. In other words, the constipation group showed a greater change immediately before and during menstruation compared with the normal group, though the differences were not significant. Our data thus suggest that the changes in the bowel habits of women of climacteric age at menstruation are greater for those suffering from constipation than those who are not.