A large cohort study finds a U-shaped association between caffeine intake and chronic constipation risk; intakes | 204 mg/d improved bowel movements, but higher levels increase the risk.
Caffeine intake has a U-shaped relationship with chronic constipation , with intakes< 204 mg/d having a laxative effect, whereas higher intake increases risks. However, this does not apply to adults aged 60 years or older, among whom high caffeine intake is linked to a reduced risk for chronic constipation .
Researchers explored the association between caffeine intake and bowel habits and the risk for inflammatory bowel disease using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data collected between 2005 and 2010.Complete information on caffeine intake was obtained from two 24-hour dietary recall interviews and bowel function using the Bristol Stool Form Scale. IBD status was based on whether a doctor or other health professional had ever diagnosed participants with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.Participants with the highest caffeine intake had a 25% lower risk for chronic constipation than those with the lowest intake. A threshold analysis identified a breakpoint at 204 mg/d. Below this, each additional 100 mg of caffeine reduced the risk for constipation by 18% (The U-shaped relationship was absent in adults aged 60 years or older, in whom high caffeine intake reduced chronic constipation risk. Among high-income individuals, each 100 mg increase in caffeine intake was associated with a 12% increased risk for chronic diarrhea.“Caffeine use in clinical practice needs to be approached strategically, with the right amount of caffeine being consumed according to the defecation status of the population,” the authors of the study wrote.The study was led by Xiaoxian Yang, Department of Hepatology, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing, China. It was publishedDue to the cross-sectional design, this study could not prove if caffeine intake caused gut changes. Recall bias may have affected dietary data, and bowel habits were self-reported. Only a limited number of participants had IBD.This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.Comments on Medscape are moderated and should be professional in tone and on topic. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Please see our
Costiveness Chronic Constipation Inflammatory Bowel Disease IBD Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Diarrhea Diarrhoea Chronic Diarrhea Chronic Diarrhoea Crohn' S Disease Crohn Disease Regional Enteritis Crohn’S Revenue And Practice Management Practice Management Revenue Artificial Intelligence Deep Learning AI NPL Machine Learning ML Natural Language Processing
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