title: Constipation, laxative use and risk of colorectal cancer: The Miyagi Cohort Study.
abstract: 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 41670 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Forensic Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1, Seiryo, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nakaya
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurashima
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuriyama
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsubono
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tsuji
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002400:Cathartics / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D003248:Constipation / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D002400:Cathartics