2023-07-20 17:25:00
By Melanie Hoffmann, Medical Editor | Jul 20, 2023 at 7:25 p.m
The gut-brain connection means that the gut and brain are constantly communicating and influencing each other. They are also dependent on each other in terms of their health – research is constantly providing new, exciting information on this. However, did you know that bowel movement frequency is linked to cognitive decline? This is exactly what a current study suggests.
In medical terms, constipation is when you pass stool (defecation) less than every three days.1 It affects around 16 percent of the world’s population.2 Now, researchers from Cleveland have found a worrying link between bowel frequency and brain health. Could chronic constipation even lead to dementia?
Intestinal disorders and brain disorders
How strong is the influence that our intestines – more precisely the intestinal bacteria (microbiome) – have on the brain? Or is it more the other way around and brain health affects the gut? Researchers have been trying to track down these medical mysteries for years. So far, observations have already shown that there seems to be a connection between disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and Alzheimer’s – and that genetic similarities may play a role (FITBOOK reported).3,4
Now scientists at the Cleveland Clinic (Ohio, USA) are adding another piece to the puzzle. Namely knowledge of a remarkable link between constipation and cognitive decline. They presented the results of their study at the “Alzheimer’s Association International Conference” in Amsterdam (Netherlands).5
Also interesting: The crazy gut-brain connection and its consequences for health
What was examined?
For the study, the researchers used data from three ongoing long-term studies: the Nurses’ Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study II and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. All three studies examine risk factors for common chronic diseases. While the first two projects focus on women, the third focuses on men.6
The scientists from Cleveland were interested in the data on the frequency of bowel movements of the participants. They also analyzed information on cognitive functioning obtained from self-assessments. In addition, there were objectively measured values about the cognitive functions and the microbiome of the test persons. Overall, the researchers evaluated information from more than 110,000 women and men.
Also interesting: The bowel movement allows conclusions to be drawn about your health
How are bowel movements and brain health related?
“We found that fewer bowel movements were associated with poorer cognitive function,” said professor Chaoran Ma, who was involved in the study.NeurologyLive“. “Compared to the participants who had a once-daily bowel movement, the participants with constipation (bowel movements every three days or less) had significantly worse cognitive functioning, which corresponds to three years longer cognitive aging.”
The researchers also found a slight connection between bowel movements and brain performance in the other direction. People who had more frequent bowel movements – more than twice a day – also had an increased risk of cognitive decline. The study co-author also explained that the analysis of the microbiome data also yielded interesting insights. There was also a connection between specific intestinal bacteria and defecation. The subjects who had more inflammation-causing bacteria in their gut than bacteria responsible for digesting dietary fiber also had fewer bowel movements and had poorer cognitive function.
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Constipation may be a risk factor for cognitive decline
“Our results suggest that constipation can be considered a risk factor for cognitive decline. In addition, unhealthy microbial profiles in the gut could explain the link between abnormal gut function and cognitive decline,” Ma summarizes the findings.
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classification of the study
Due to its design, the study from Cleveland could only prove possible connections, but no causalities. However, this was not the aim of those responsible for the study. In order to be able to explain how exactly the connections come about, further research is required. Still, Ma and her research team recommend health professionals to watch for signs of indigestion and constipation in older people who appear mentally fit. These could indicate that those affected have an increased risk of cognitive decline and, in the long term, possibly even dementia, such as Alzheimer’s.
Sources
1. Dr. Falk. Chronic Ostipation. (accessed on July 20, 2023)
2. Salari, N., Ghasemianrad, M., Ammari-Allahyari, M. et al. (2023). Global prevalence of constipation in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Vienna clinical weekly.
3. Jiang, C., Li, G., Huang, P. (2017). The Gut Microbiota and Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
4. Laws, S., Adewuyi, E., O’Brien, E.K. (2022). A large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis reveals shared genetic architecture between Alzheimer’s disease and gastrointestinal tract disorders. Communications Biology.
5. Ma, C., Mei, Z., Mehta, R.S. et al. (2023). Bowel movement frequency, the gut microbiome, and cognitive function in women and men. Presented at: 2023 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference; July 16 to July 20; Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
6. Rogers, K. Pooping only every 3 or more days linked with cognitive decline, research finds. CNN (accessed 7/20/2023)
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