Researchers found out that there’s a link between constipation and kidney disease.
A new study in the United States reveals the connection between having constipation and kidney disease, as published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
“We cannot really say that we were very surprised,” said Dr. Csaba Pal Kovesdy, chief of nephrology at the Memphis VA Medical Center. He is one of the co-authors of the study.
In the said study, researchers examined health records from more than 3.5 million U.S. veterans. They looked at whether these veterans reported being constipated or had used laxatives over period of about seven years.
They found out that those who had experienced difficulty in bowel movement had higher risks of developing chronic kidney disease and kidney failure than those who had not.
They also found that the more severe the participant’s difficulty in movement, the constipation may be a marker of an altered gut microbiome.
He added that changes in the community of microbes that live in guts of the people have been linked to numerous changes in the metabolism, such as increased inflammation.
The researchers suggested that the changes in gut bacteria that cause constipation could also cause food to pass through the digestive system more slowly than usual. This slowdown may lead to chronic inflammation, which in turn may contribute to having kidney disease.
According to those who conducted the study, constipation could be a cause of kidney disease, or it may be a sign of other factors that lead to the said disease. However, further research is still needed to determine whether treating constipation could help prevent chronic kidney disease or kidney failure.
They admitted that the findings could have clinical implications. For example, physicians may choose to treat their patients with constipation through methods other than laxatives, if it turns out that the dehydration that laxatives can cause is a significant link between constipation and kidney disease.
In the published article, the researchers said that constipation affects about 30 percent of the general population at some point during their lifetime, and is “one of the most prevalent conditions encountered in primary care settings.” Among the population, elderly people and women are most heavily affected of the condition.
