"Hemorrhoids are among the most frequent gastrointestinal complaints in the United States, sending millions of people to clinics and emergency rooms each year and costing the health system hundreds of millions of dollars. Despite their prevalence, the causes remain poorly defined. Constipation, straining, pregnancy, and low-fiber diets have all been implicated, but physician-investigator Trisha Pasricha and colleagues wondered whether the modern habit of lingering in the bathroom with a phone might also play a role."
"Two-thirds of participants admitted to using their phones on the toilet. Smartphone use on the toilet was associated with a 46 percent increased risk of having hemorrhoids. Phone users were five times more likely to sit for more than five minutes per trip. Younger adults were especially prone to the habit. Smartphone users reported less weekly exercise than non-users. We asked Pasricha what these findings, published in PLOS One, mean for patients and how they might change the way we think about everyday bathroom routines."
A study of 125 adults undergoing routine colonoscopy surveyed toilet habits, smartphone use, diet, and activity and compared responses with direct colonoscopy findings. Two-thirds of participants reported using phones on the toilet. Smartphone use on the toilet correlated with a 46 percent higher risk of hemorrhoids and a fivefold greater likelihood of sitting more than five minutes per trip. Smartphone users tended to be younger and reported less weekly exercise. Known hemorrhoid risk factors include constipation, straining, pregnancy, and low-fiber diets. Prolonged toilet sitting with smartphone use emerges as a potentially modifiable risk factor for hemorrhoids.
Read at Harvard Gazette
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