An extended assessment of bowel habits in a general population

Table 3 Defecatory frequency and defecation-related variables in our population sample (data are expressed as mean ± SD)

Sex	No. of	Straining	Feeling of incomplete	Manual help	Lumpy/hard	Use of
	defecations/	at stool/	emptying/defecation	for evacuation/	stools/defecation	laxatives/day
	day	defecation		defecation
Total	1.00 ± 0.4	0.06 ± 0.1	0.06 ± 0.15	0.0090 ± 0.07	0.07 ± 0.2	0.07 ± 0.2
Men	1.03 ± 0.34	0.05 ± 0.13	0.03 ± 0.09	0.0008 ± 0.001	0.06 ± 0.2	0.02 ± 0.1
Women	0.97 ± 0.4	0.12 ± 0.21	0.09 ± 0.2	0.0170 ± 0.09	0.08 ± 0.2	0.09 ± 0.2
P (between sexes)	n.s.	0.001	0.0001	0.046	n.s.	0.001