Personal and running characteristics in runners with and without abdominal complaints during and/or up to 3 hours after running
| No UAC | UAC | P value* | No LAC | LAC | P value* | |
| Men (n=891) | n=784 | n=107 | n=508 | n=383 | ||
| Age, years | 48 (38–57) | 44 (32–56) | 0.015 | 50 (39–58) | 44 (35–55) | <0.001 |
| Height, m | 1.82 (1.78–1.87) | 1.83 (1.78–1.87) | 0.701 | 1.82 (1.78–1.87) | 1.82 (1.78–1.87) | 0.976 |
| Weight, kg | 76 (71–82) | 75 (70–82) | 0.581 | 76 (71–82) | 75 (70–81) | 0.129 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 22.8 (21.5–24.5) | 22.8 (21.4–23.8) | 0.423 | 22.9 (21.6–24.5) | 22.7 (21.4–24.1) | 0.075 |
| Running level | <0.001 | 0.126 | ||||
| Beginner | 13 (2) | 3 (3) | 9 (2) | 7 (2) | ||
| Intermediate, not competitive | 552 (70) | 66 (62) | 366 (72) | 252 (66) | ||
| Competitive (in age group) | 216 (28) | 34 (32) | 131 (26) | 119 (31) | ||
| (Semi)professional | 3 (0) | 4 (4) | 2 (0) | 5 (1) | ||
| Running years | 0.075 | 0.122 | ||||
| <1 year | 10 (1) | 2 (2) | 3 (1) | 9 (2) | ||
| 1–2 years | 52 (7) | 10 (9) | 32 (6) | 30 (8) | ||
| 3–5 years | 136 (17) | 17 (16) | 80 (16) | 73 (19) | ||
| 6–9 years | 159 (20) | 21 (20) | 104 (21) | 76 (20) | ||
| ≥10 years | 426 (54) | 55 (51) | 287 (57) | 194 (51) | ||
| Running, km/week | 35 (25–50) | 33 (24–50) | 0.871 | 35 (24–50) | 35 (25–50) | 0.523 |
| Longest distance per week (km) | 16 (12–21) | 16 (12–25) | 0.596 | 15 (12–21) | 16 (12–21) | 0.063 |
| Intensity most intensive training | 0.040 | <0.001 | ||||
| Moderately intensive | 179 (23) | 18 (17) | 137 (27) | 60 (16) | ||
| Intensive | 394 (50) | 48 (45) | 251 (49) | 191 (50) | ||
| Very intensive | 211 (27) | 41 (38) | 120 (24) | 132 (35) | ||
| Warming up (yes) | 492 (63) | 77 (72) | 0.17 | 313 (62) | 256 (67) | 0.200 |
| Other sports besides running in the past year (yes) | 407 (52) | 52 (49) | 0.697 | 250 (49) | 209 (55) | 0.147 |
| Women (n=1095) | n=901 | n=194 | n=366 | n=729 | ||
| Age, years | 44 (33–52) | 38 (28–48) | <0.001 | 46 (37–54) | 41 (30–51) | <0.001 |
| Height, m | 1.70 (1.65–1.75) | 1.70 (1.65–1.74) | 0.468 | 1.70 (1.65 – 1.75) | 1.70 (1.65 – 1.74) | 0.842 |
| Weight, kg | 63 (58–69) | 63 (58 – 68) | 0.341 | 64 (59 – 70) | 62 (58–68) | 0.012 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 21.6 (20.3 – 23.3) | 21.7 (20.2 – 23.4) | 0.716 | 22.0 (20.4–23.6) | 21.5 (20.2 – 23.3) | 0.033 |
| Running level | 0.521 | 0.184 | ||||
| Beginner | 28 (3) | 9 (5) | 13 (4) | 24 (3) | ||
| Intermediate, not competitive | 734 (82) | 156 (80) | 306 (84) | 584 (80) | ||
| Competitive (in age group) | 135 (15) | 27 (14) | 47 (13) | 115 (16) | ||
| (Semi)professional | 4 (0) | 2 (1) | 0 (0) | 6 (1) | ||
| Running years | 0.018 | 0.077 | ||||
| <1 year | 22 (2) | 7 (4) | 11 (3) | 18 (3) | ||
| 1–2 years | 66 (7) | 27 (14) | 22 (6) | 71 (10) | ||
| 3–5 years | 193 (21) | 46 (24) | 71 (19) | 168 (23) | ||
| 6–9 years | 203 (23) | 35 (18) | 79 (22) | 159 (22) | ||
| ≥10 years | 417 (46) | 79 (41) | 183 (50) | 313 (43) | ||
| Running, km/week | 25 (17–40) | 27 (15–40) | 0.366 | 25 (16–35) | 25 (18–40) | 0.013 |
| Longest distance per week (km) | 12 (10–16) | 14 (10–18) | 0.316 | 12 (10–16) | 13 (10–18 | 0.126 |
| Intensity most intensive training | 0.022 | 0.022 | ||||
| Moderately intensive | 255 (28) | 38 (20) | 117 (32) | 179 (24) | ||
| Intensive | 469 (52) | 106 (55) | 179 (49) | 396 (54) | ||
| Very intensive | 177 (20) | 50 (26) | 70 (19) | 157 (22) | ||
| Warming up (yes) | 571 (63) | 122 (63) | 0.098 | 230 (63) | 463 (64) | 0.755 |
| Other sports besides running in the past year (yes) | 613 (68) | 125 (64) | 0.332 | 243 (66) | 495 (68) | 0.616 |
Data are presented as median (25th–75th percentile) for continuous variables and n (%) for categorical variables.
*P values were obtained with a Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and a Pearson χ2 test for categorical variables; statistical significance (p<0.05) is indicated in bold.
BMI, body mass index; LAC, lower abdominal complaints; UAC, upper abdominal complaints.