The Relationship between Functional Constipation and Major Dietary Patterns in Iranian Adults: Findings from the Large Cross-Sectional Population-Based SEPAHAN Study

Although associations between dietary patterns and risk of chronic conditions have recently received increased attention, few studies have examined the relationship between major dietary patterns and risk of constipation. We collected dietary data using a validated dish-based, 106-item semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire on 4,763 adults aged 18∼55 years. Data on anthropometric measures were collected through self-administered questionnaires. Functional constipation was defined based on the Iranian validated version of Rome III. Factor analysis followed by a varimax rotation was applied to derive major dietary patterns from 39 predefined food groups, and logistic regression was used for association analysis. Three major dietary patterns were extracted: traditional (TD), fruit and vegetables dominant (FVD), and Western (WD). The association between TD and constipation was not significant for both genders and for the total sample. However, in the crude model and the fully adjusted model, poor adherence to the FVD was associated with a higher risk of constipation in men and in the total sample. In addition, we observed a significantly lower risk of constipation in the total sample and in female participants with low adherence to WD; however, this was not significant for male participants. Further studies in other populations, and future prospective studies, are required to reiterate these results.