Perceived impact of AC and personal experiences with nutrition and AC
| UAC | LAC | |||||
| Men (n=107) | Women (n=194) | P value* | Men (n=383) | Women (n=729) | P value* | |
| Do AC disrupt, interrupt or avoid running training? | 0.014 | <0.001 | ||||
| Never | 36 (34) | 34 (18) | 125 (33) | 147 (20) | ||
| Seldom | 41 (38) | 76 (39) | 147 (38) | 263 (36) | ||
| Sometimes | 25 (23) | 68 (35) | 93 (24) | 240 (33) | ||
| Often | 5 (5) | 14 (7) | 16 (4) | 67 (9) | ||
| Always | 0 (0) | 2 (1) | 1 (0) | 12 (2) | ||
| Do AC disrupt, interrupt or avoid running in competitions? | 0.362 | 0.038 | ||||
| Never | 43 (40) | 56 (29) | 157 (41) | 235 (32) | ||
| Seldom | 13 (12) | 25 (13) | 60 (16) | 110 (15) | ||
| Sometimes | 9 (8) | 17 (9) | 19 (5) | 52 (7) | ||
| Often | 3 (3) | 6 (3) | 3 (1) | 14 (2) | ||
| Always | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0) | 3 (0) | ||
| Does eating before or during running increase AC? | 0.017 | <0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 80 (75) | 170 (88) | 256 (67) | 566 (78) | ||
| No | 25 (23) | 22 (11) | 123 (32) | 155 (21) | ||
| How does eating before or during running increase AC? | ||||||
| Eating too much before running | 58 (54) | 132 (68) | 0.017 | 203 (53) | 447 (61) | 0.008 |
| Eating too little before running | 15 (14) | 30 (16) | 0.736 | 29 (8) | 73 (10) | 0.180 |
| Eating shortly before running | 52 (49) | 124 (64) | 0.010 | 179 (47) | 391 (54) | 0.029 |
| Eating during running | 22 (21) | 38 (20) | 0.840 | 48 (13) | 98 (13) | 0.669 |
| Eating specific food products that cause me complaints | 19 (18) | 57 (29) | 0.026 | 69 (18) | 179 (25) | 0.013 |
| Does drinking before or during running increase AC? | 0.147 | <0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 38 (36) | 87 (45) | 94 (25) | 263 (36) | ||
| No | 69 (65) | 105 (54) | 288 (75) | 458 (63) | ||
| How does drinking before or during running increase AC? | ||||||
| Drinking too much before running | 23 (22) | 62 (32) | 0.054 | 62 (16) | 188 (26) | <0.001 |
| Drinking too little before running | 16 (15) | 29 (15) | 0.999 | 23 (6) | 65 (9) | 0.087 |
| Drinking during running | 10 (9) | 28 (14) | 0.203 | 30 (8) | 73 (10) | 0.233 |
| Drinking specific drinks that cause me complaints | 9 (8) | 20 (10) | 0.593 | 25 (7) | 55 (8) | 0.533 |
| Do you take measures to reduce AC? | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||
| Yes | 35 (33) | 105 (54) | 134 (35) | 345 (47) | ||
| No | 72 (67) | 89 (46) | 248 (65) | 382 (52) | ||
| Which measures do you take to reduce AC? | ||||||
| Not eating (too much) just before running | 25 (23) | 87 (45) | <0.001 | 101 (26) | 274 (38) | <0.001 |
| Drinking well before and/or during running | 14 (13) | 36 (19) | 0.222 | 54 (14) | 105 (14) | 0.891 |
| Avoiding specific foods or drinks | 22 (21) | 65 (34) | 0.018 | 66 (17) | 201 (28) | <0.001 |
| Defecating before running | 18 (17) | 59 (30) | 0.010 | 100 (26) | 210 (29) | 0.341 |
| Decreasing running intensity | 15 (14) | 36 (19) | 0.315 | 48 (13) | 110 (15) | 0.246 |
| Other | 5 (5) | 18 (9) | 0.150 | 18 (5) | 68 (9) | 0.006 |
Data are presented as n (%).
*P values were obtained with a Pearson χ2 test; statistical significance (p<0.05) is indicated in bold.
AC, abdominal complaints; LAC, lower abdominal complaints; UAC, upper abdominal complaints.