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BACKGROUND: Prevalence studies of faecal incontinence in the general population are rare and the impact of faecal incontinence on quality of life has not been previously addressed. AIMS: To establish the prevalence of faecal incontinence in adults in terms of frequency of leakage, degree of soiling, and level of impact on quality of life. METHODS: In a cross sectional postal survey, 15 904 adults aged 40 years or more (excluding residents of nursing and residential homes) were selected randomly by household from the Leicestershire Health Authority patient register. Participants were asked to complete a confidential health questionnaire. Major faecal incontinence was defined as soiling of underwear or worse with a frequency of several times a month or more. Respondents were also asked if bowel symptoms had an impact on their quality of life. RESULTS: From a total sample of 10 116 respondents, 1.4% reported major faecal incontinence and 0.7% major faecal incontinence with bowel symptoms that had an impact on quality of life. Major faecal incontinence was significantly associated with a lot of impact on quality of life (odds ratio 12.4, 95% confidence interval 7.5-20.6). Incontinence was more prevalent and more severe in older people but there was no significant difference between men and women. CONCLUSIONS: This study has confirmed that faecal incontinence is a fairly common symptom, particularly in older people. Faecal incontinence in men has received little attention in the past and the results from this study indicate that it is as much of a problem in men as it is in women while the level of unmet need in this group is high. Estimates of need for health care for this symptom should be multidimensional and assess both the severity of symptoms and the impact it has on quality of life.

This case study examines the development of travel retailing within the UK’s major airports between 1987 and 1999. The paper reviews the strategic marketing and business developments undertaken by BAA plc since privatisation as it has developed its retailing division. The development of retailing concepts in its airports, joint partnerships at non-airport sites and acquisitions are examined. The impact of the abolition of intra-European Union tax and duty-free sales from July 1999 is looked at, and the future of BAA’s retailing strategies is considered.

Major steps in the development of tourism have been linked with advancements in transport, the system that creates the structural linkage between origins and destinations. The objective of this article is to shed some light on the nature and complexity of transport as an integral component of tourism infrastructure. More specifically, this article examines current advancements and gives scenarios of future transport infrastructure.

Spring break travel is a unique North American youth tourism phenomenon, generating millions of dollars for the tourism industry. This longitudinal study surveyed students at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA, over a four-year period. It examines the changes that have occurred in spring break travel patterns over the years of 1991 to 1994. Implications for marketers, tour operators and destinations are presented.

The essential characteristics of the deformity observed in scoliosis have been understood for more than a hundred years. The voluminous literature of scoliosis deals largely with the cause or causes of the deformity, but mainly with the thousand and one methods which have been used in its treatment, with only a few serious studies of the mechanics involved. The striking similarity in the deformities resulting from such a variety of well established causes indicates a uniformity in the intermediate causes, that is, in the mechanics of the deformity. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the previous explanations of this mechanism and to add the results of some original investigations on mechanical models. ANATOMIC CONSIDERATIONS The spine is a segmented rod. Each segment consists of a body and a neural arch. The column of bodies is the weight-bearing element. weight bearing including the pressure stresses of all the muscles