Objective  To examine the prevalence of abnormal defecation and its influence on physical and mental health among community-dwelling oldest elderly in Tangshan city.

  Methods  We conducted a household questionnaire survey among 3 448 residents aged ≥ 75 years recruited with stratified random cluster sampling from communities covered by 10 community health care centers in Tangshan city of Hebei province between July 2016 and January 2017. Activities of Daily Living, University of California at Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, and Perceived Social Support from Family were used in the study.

  Results  The self-reported prevalence rate of abnormal defecation was 54.37% among all the participants. Of the participants with abnormal defecation, 33.6%, 11.5%, and 9.2% reported constipation, urinary incontinence, and fecal incontinence. Various degree of impaired activities of daily life and moderate or severe perceived loneliness were reported by 48.2% and 69.0% of the participants. Multivariate analyses revealed following significant influencing factors of impaired activities of daily life: urinary incontinence (odds ratio OR = 3.242), fecal incontinence (OR = 1.576), constipation (OR = 1.562), education level (OR = 0.854), and family support (OR = 0.783) (all P < 0.05) and significant influencing factors of perceived loneliness: urinary incontinence (OR = 1.861), fecal incontinence (OR = 1.540), constipation (OR = 1.488), education level (OR = 0.636), and family support (OR = 0.393) (P < 0.05 for all) among the participants.

  Conclusion  The physical and mental health condition are not good and significantly influenced by abnormal defecation among community oldest elderly in Tangshan city, suggesting that targeted interventions need to be promoted among the elderly for healthy aging of the population.