14% of urban Indians have chronic constipation: Survey

Zee Media Bureau/Salome Phelamei

New Delhi: A survey by a leading healthcare company has found that about 14 percent of people in urban India suffer from chronic constipation.

The 'Abbott Gut-Health Survey' shows that incidence of chronic constipation increases with age. It pointed out that around 20% (2 out of 10) of people in the age group of 45 to 65 years suffered from chronic constipation, against an overall average of 14%.

It shows that 65% of the people with chronic constipation did not pass motion for 3 or more consecutive days.

Chronic constipation is strongly linked to food habits and lifestyle. Globally, over 10% people suffer from chronic constipation.

Chronic constipation is defined as an inability to pass stools more than three times a week, and for more than three months at a stretch. Other symptoms experienced are abnormally hard stools, the need to strain very hard to pass motions, feeling of incomplete evacuation or a feeling of bowel obstruction.

Abbott, a US healthcare group in partnership with IPSOS India, conducted the survey in six cities across the country.

The survey also reveals that about 80% of the people with chronic constipation looked for a solution only after they faced the issue multiple times.

Another finding of the survey showed the incidence of chronic constipation is found to be high in Mumbai and Coimbatore, where almost every two out 10 people suffer from acute bowel movement.

Whereas the incidence is 13% in Delhi and Kolkata. The survey also found that although the incidence is comparatively low in Hyderabad and Lucknow, suffering is higher in these cities.

For the survey, Abbott spoke to over 3,500 individuals to determine the incidence of chronic constipation and with 1,015 people living with chronic constipation to understand the leading causes and the impact of chronic constipation on urban Indians. 

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