title: Validity of the Rome III Criteria in assessing constipation in women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A study was conducted to validate a constipation questionnaire based on the Rome III criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women attending outpatient clinics completed a constipation questionnaire based on the Rome III Criteria. The internal reliability, the test-retest as well as the content and construct validity of the questionnaire were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred one women were studied. Of the women, 28% (56/201) reported constipation but only 14% of these (8/56) could be defined as constipated accordingly to the Rome III Criteria. Nine percent of women (13/145) who did not report constipation were classified as constipated accordingly to the Rome III Criteria. The questionnaire had good reliability (Cronbach's alpha of 0.85 and ICC of 0.85). However, the questionnaire did not have significant construct validity with patients' self-report of constipation, stool frequency and stool form (Pearson chi-square P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Rome III Criteria questionnaire is a reliable and reproducible tool but does not appear to be a valid instrument in diagnosing constipation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urogynaecology, St. Mary's Hospital, London, UK. digesualex@hotmail.com
authors.forename: G Alessandro
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Digesu
authors.forename: Demetri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Panayi
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kundi
authors.forename: Paris
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tekkis
authors.forename: Ruwan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernando
authors.forename: Vik
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Khullar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003248:Constipation / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult