Oversight of constipation in inpatients with schizophrenia: a cross-sectional study

Constipation is often overlooked in patients with schizophrenia. We examined their awareness of constipation and whether they reported it to their psychiatrists.

Five hundred three inpatients with schizophrenia (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision) were interviewed about their recent bowel movements and evaluated for the diagnostic criteria for functional constipation. If constipation was present, patients were asked if they were aware of it and had reported it to their psychiatrists in charge. Additionally, their global psychopathology and functioning were assessed using the Clinical Global Impression-Schizophrenia (CGI-SCH) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), respectively.

The criteria for constipation were met by 184 patients (36.6%); of these patients, only 56.0% (103/184) were aware of it. Moreover, only 34 of the constipated patients (18.5%) reported its presence to their psychiatrists. No significant differences were found in the CGI-SCH overall severity or subscale scores or in the GAF scores between those patients who reported and those who failed to report constipation.

The present study demonstrated that constipation was neither recognized nor reported to psychiatrists by a significant percentage of the patients. These findings underscore the importance of greater vigilance and active evaluation of constipation in patients with schizophrenia for appropriate clinical management.