Efficacy of ispaghula husk in the treatment of premenstrual constipation-type symptoms

It is well documented that women are prone to constipation-type symptoms premenstrually. An increase in nonstarch polysaccharide intake of 5.9 g/d in the form of palatable drink has proved to be of symptomatic benefit during the premenstrual phase of the cycle resulting in a significant increase in stool frequency, significant decreases in straining at the end of defecation and feelings of incomplete evacuation and the production of less well formed stools. © Jill Davies, Peter Dettmar and Roger Hoare. and again after the evening meal during the treatment phase. Data analysis was focused on days 24 to 28 inclusive of the menstrual cycle for each of the study phases and bowel habit parameters considered in the diagnosis of constipation (Thompson et al., 1992) namely: frequency of defaecation, straining, feelings of incomplete evacuation and stool form. Frequency of defaecation per 24 hours, percentage of motions per subject with straining at both start and end of defecation, incomplete evacuation and each category of stool form were compared between the pre-treatment, treatment and post-treatment phases using a twoway analysis of variance followed by pairwise comparisons using Duncan’s multiple range test. Where assumptions of this parametric analysis were violated an equivalent nonparametric test, i.e. the Friedman two-way analysis by ranks, was used.