Determining the Prevalence and factors associated with Functional Constipation Among nurses working in hospitals of medical universities of Tehran

Background: The present research made an attempt to study the prevalence and factors associated with functional constipation in nurses at the medical sciences universities in Tehran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017 on nurses at the medical sciences universities of Tehran. The research questionnaire was designed, and the personal information on the participants including their demographic information, clinical and medicinal records, shift type, marital status, history of psychological disorders, and eating habits was collected. To examine the nurses for mood disorders including depression, anxiety, and stress, they were tested using the DASS-21 questionnaire. In the end, the information recorded on the checklists was entered onto the computer software for statistical analyses. A total of 500 nurses working at hospitals were included in this research. However, 49 nurses were excluded from the statistical research population due to organic diseases and intake of medicine. Results: The examination results revealed that 34.1% of the nurses suffer from functional constipation. Besides, the results showed a significant relationship between functional constipation with three variables, viz. marital status, gender, and shift type at the <0.05 significance level. There was also a significant relationship between functional constipation and depression. Conclusion: Finally, the research results revealed that considering the prevalence and the factors involved in the development of functional constipation, some of these changeable factors can be rectified through planning and appropriate measures.