Table 1

Study groups at inclusion. General characteristics and anal pressures obtained using routine manometry

		Incontinent patients
	Controls (n=15)	Impaired perception (n=22)	Normal perception (n=61)	Enhanced perception (n=14)
General characteristics
Age (years)	48 (3)	55 (4)	55 (2)	53 (4)
Parity (number)	2.2 (0.3)	2.1 (0.3)	2.6 (0.3)	2.0 (0.4)
Male sex	4	1	7	1
Weekly stool (number)	6.6 (0.6)	8.6 (0.9)	10.9 (0.9)^* ^†	6.1 (1.3)
Incontinence score (0–18)	0.0	13.1 (0.9)^*	12.4 (0.5)^*	10.3 (1.2)^*
Previous surgery (number)	4	15^*	42^*	8^*
Anal pressure (mm Hg)
Upper part
Mean resting	66.7 (7.5)	30.4 (3.6)^*	31.6 (3.1)^*	23.4 (3.5)^*
Lower part
Mean resting	63.0 (5.1)	30.0 (3.2)^* ^†	33.6 (2.7)^* ^†	17.8 (2.4)^*
Maximum squeeze	172.0 (11.7)	72.5 (8.2)^*	85.8 (7.0)^*	69.2 (10.3)^*
Mean squeeze	119.2 (7.3)	53.8 (6.7)^*	63.1 (5.2)^*	46.2 (6.8)^*

Data are means (SEM) for quantitative variables and effectives (with percentages) for qualitative variables. ^* and ^† indicate significance when the group considered was compared with the control group and the incontinent group with enhanced perception respectively. Past history of previous surgery focused on pelvic and perineal surgical procedures (including episiotomy).