Irritable bowel syndrome consulters in Zhejiang province: The symptoms pattern, predominant bowel habit subgroups and quality of life

Table 1 The basic characteristics of IBS consulters

Characteristics	IBS sample (n = 662)
Age (yr, %)	44.78 ± 13.71
< 20	1.5
20-29	9.5
30-39	30.4
40-49	25.8
50-59	17
60-69	10.5
70-79	5
> 80	0.3
Gender (n, %)
Male	312 (47.1)
Female	350 (52.9)
Marital status (n, %)
Never married	51 (7.7)
Married	585 (88.4)
Widow	19 (2.8)
Divorced or separated	7 (1.1)
Education level (n, %)
Illiterate	87 (13.1)
Primary school	129 (19.5)
Junior middle school	184 (27.7)
Senior middle school	155 (23.5)
College or graduated	107 (16.2)
Profession (n, %)
Peasants	211 (31.8)
Workers	75 (11.3)
Cadres	62 (9.4)
Intellectuals	58 (8.7)
Merchants	105 (15.9)
Soldiers	57 (8.6)
Student	20 (3.0)
Retired and jobless	74 (11.3)