Constipation, laxative use and risk of colorectal cancer: The Miyagi Cohort Study

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between constipation or laxative use and the risk of colorectal cancer in Japanese men and women. In 1990, we delivered a self-administered questionnaire to 41 670 subjects who were 40–64 years old. During the seven years of follow-up, 2...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of cancer (1990) 2004-09, Vol.40 (14), p.2109-2115
Main Authors: Watanabe, T., Nakaya, N., Kurashima, K., Kuriyama, S., Tsubono, Y., Tsuji, I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Cathartics - adverse effects
Cathartics - therapeutic use
Colonic Neoplasms - etiology
Colorectal cancer
Constipation
Constipation - complications
Constipation - drug therapy
Epidemiologic Methods
Female
Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen
Humans
Laxative use
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Other diseases. Semiology
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Prospective cohort study
Stomach. Duodenum. Small intestine. Colon. Rectum. Anus
Tumors
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Summary:The objective of this study was to investigate the association between constipation or laxative use and the risk of colorectal cancer in Japanese men and women. In 1990, we delivered a self-administered questionnaire to 41 670 subjects who were 40–64 years old. During the seven years of follow-up, 251 incident cases of colorectal cancer were documented. Constipation was defined as a bowel movement frequency of less than daily. The multivariate relative risk (RR) of colorectal cancer for constipated subjects compared with those with daily bowel movements was 1.35 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.99–1.84). The RR for laxative users over non-users was 1.31 (0.88–1.95), and for frequent users (twice a week or more) it was 2.75 (1.48–5.09). When colorectal cancers were divided into colon cancers or rectal cancers, a significant association was found with colon cancer alone. Our results support the hypothesis that constipation or laxative use increases the risk of colon cancer.
ISSN:0959-8049
1879-0852
DOI:10.1016/j.ejca.2004.06.014