People who are chronically constipated are at risk for cognitive decline later in life.Photo:Getty
Getty
People who are chronically constipated — which means they have a bowel movement once every two or three days — have a 73% higher risk of “subjective cognitive decline” later in life, according toCNN, which reported on research presented Wednesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam.
“We were surprised at how strong the associations were, especially for those with very infrequent bowel movements,” Dr. Chaoran Ma, the research’s first author and assistant professor in the department of nutrition at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told CNN.
Infrequent bowel movements can be a sign of a bigger health problem.Getty
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The study also found that those who had frequent bowel movements — two a day — also had an increased risk of declining cognitive function, but the risk was smaller.
In the U.S. alone, there are an estimated 6.5 million people living withAlzheimer’s disease.
“The more we learn about the gut-brain access, the more we understand that it’s just so important to ensure that (preventing or addressing cognitive decline) is a system approach,” Maria C. Carrillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, told CNN.
“The brain is not completely isolated from what’s happening in your blood flow.”
But diet isn’t the only cause of constipation, as it can be a side effect of certain medications (such as opioid pain relievers) or physical challenges (likehemorrhoids, which are swollen veins in the anus or rectum).
Some gastrointestinal disorders, like irritable bowel syndrome, can also cause constipation.
Doctors may test yourblood, urine, and stool — or perform acolonoscopy— to diagnose the cause of your constipation.
And if you have blood in your stool, abdominal pain, a fever, or vomiting, theNational Institute of Healthrecommends seeing a doctor.
source: people.com
