The association between socio-psychological factors and fecal incontinence in Japanese people with spinal cord injury

Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Background: Fecal incontinence (FI) in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) is less studied than urinary dysfunction. Anxiety about urinary and fecal incontinence is a barrier to the acceptance of disability and social reintegration, with substantial impacts on social life. Objectives: To investigate relationships between FI and socio-psychological factors in Japanese people with SCI. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine whether the presence of FI impacts socio-psychological factors, including subjective health, life satisfaction, purpose in life (PIL), frequency of outings per week, and the condition that SCI people wish to improve the most with regenerative medicine, in people with SCI. Participants responded by mail or online between February and March 2023. Results: Data from 917 respondents were used for analysis. Scores for subjective health, life satisfaction, PIL, and frequency of outings per week tended to be lower in people with FI than in those without, but the differences were small except for the factor related to regenerative medicine (7.3%, p=0.0172). Conclusions: Regardless of the number of years since injury or injured regions, people with FI were more eager to improve their defecation function than walking ability. These findings highlight the different perceptions that people with and without FI may have regarding regenerative medicine and the importance of faster progress in regenerative medicine that addresses FI. Sponsorship: This study was funded in part by the Japan Spinal Cord Foundation.