Laxatives Could Increase the Risk of Dementia

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Highlights:

• Laxatives are commonly used to treat constipation and promote bowel movement
• A new study indicates that the regular use of laxatives can increase the risk of dementia by 50% compared to those who do not use laxatives
• Osmotic laxatives have the highest risk when compared to the other types of laxatives

A recent study suggests that people who regularly use laxatives, which is a common treatment for constipation, may have more than a 50% increased risk of developing dementia than people who do not use laxatives.

Researchers also found people who used only osmotic laxatives, a type of laxative that attracts water to the colon to soften stool, had an even greater risk. Other types of laxatives are bulk-forming, stool-softening, and stimulating. The study does not prove that laxatives cause dementia. It only shows an association.

How Laxatives Could Cause Dementia

"Constipation and laxative use are common among middle-aged and older adults," said study author Feng Sha, PhD, of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangdong, China. "However, regular laxative use may change the microbiome of the gut, possibly affecting nerve signaling from the gut to the brain or increasing the production of intestinal toxins that may affect the brain. Our research found regular use of over-the-counter laxatives was associated with a higher risk of dementia, particularly in people who used multiple laxative types or osmotic laxatives."

‘Laxative use could increase the risk of developing dementia by 50%’

Researchers noted that osmotic and stimulant laxatives are not recommended for regular use, yet some people use them regularly.

The study involved 502,229 people in the UK biobank database with an average age of 57 who did not have dementia at the start of the study. Of this group, 18,235 people, or 3.6%, reported regularly using over-the-counter laxatives. Regular use was defined as using a laxative most days of the week during the month before the study.

Laxatives and their Association with Dementia

On an average of 10 years, 218 of those who regularly used laxatives, or 1.3%, developed dementia. Of those who did not regularly use laxatives, 1,969 people, or 0.4%, developed dementia.

After adjusting for factors such as age, sex, education, other illnesses, medication use, and a family history of dementia, researchers found people who regularly used laxatives had a 51% increased risk of overall dementia compared to people who did not regularly use laxatives.

The risk of dementia could also increase with the number of laxative types used. For people using one type of laxative, there was a 28% increased risk, compared to a 90% increased risk for people taking two or more types of laxatives.

Osmotic Laxatives Might be the Worst Type

However, among people using only one type, only those taking osmotic laxatives had a heightened risk, with a 64% increase compared to those who did not use laxatives.

"Finding ways to reduce a person's risk of dementia by identifying risk factors that can be modified is crucial," said Sha. "More research is needed to further investigate the link our research found between laxatives and dementia. If our findings are confirmed, medical professionals could encourage people to treat constipation by making lifestyle changes such as drinking more water, increasing dietary fiber and adding more activity into their daily lives."

A limitation of the study is that dosage information for laxatives was not available, so researchers could not explore the relationship between various laxative dosages and dementia.

Reference:

1. Association Between Regular Laxative Use and Incident Dementia in UK Biobank Participants - (https:n.neurology.org/content/early/2023/02/22/WNL.0000000000207081)

Source: Medindia

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