Abstract
Background
It has been suggested that constipation is associated with cardiovascular disease
(CVD). The association between defecation frequency and CVD mortality in a large population
has not been reported hitherto. The aim of this study was to examine whether defecation
frequency is related to CVD mortality.
Methods and results
A total of 45,112 eligible Japanese men and women aged 40–79 years participated in
the Ohsaki Cohort study. Defecation frequency was evaluated at the baseline using
a self-administered questionnaire. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals
(CIs) for cardiovascular disease mortality were calculated according to defecation
frequency (≥1 time/day, 1 time/2–3 days, ≤1 time/4 days) by the Cox proportional hazards
model. During 13.3 years of follow-up, 2028 participants died due to CVD. Compared
with those in the ≥1 time/day group, the risk of overall CVD mortality was significantly
higher in the 1 time/2–3 days and ≤1 time/4 days groups; the multivariate HR (95%CI)
for 1 time/2–3 days and ≤1 time/4 days was 1.21 (95% CI: 1.08–1.35) and 1.39 (95%
CI: 1.06–1.81), respectively.
Conclusion
A lower defecation frequency was associated with risk of CVD mortality in this Japanese
population. Future studies, aiming at elucidating the mechanisms underlying the associations
between chronic constipation and risk of CVD mortality, may be facilitated by our
findings.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 12, 2016
Accepted:
January 6,
2016
Received in revised form:
January 3,
2016
Received:
September 12,
2015
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Being constipated: A bad omen for your cardiovascular system?AtherosclerosisVol. 245
- PreviewConstipation is one of the most frequent symptoms reported daily in clinical practice throughout the world [1] and it carries a considerable burden in terms of productivity losses and healthcare utilization [2]. Although constipation is usually perceived as a benign, often self-limited condition [3], chronic constipation may display a more darker side and be associated with potentially life-threatening diseases [4] and increased mortality [5,6]. The latter may be due to several reasons, such as the association with aging, use of drugs and cardiovascular disease.
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