Association of bowel movement frequency and laxative use with risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in US women and men
Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Abnormal bowel movements have been related to a variety of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk factors such as dyslipidemia, diabetes and altered metabolism of bile acids and gut microbiota. However, little is known about whether bowel movement frequency affects the risk of developing HCC. We followed 88 123 women in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and 28 824 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) for up to 24 years. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to calculate multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and confidence intervals (95%CI). We documented 101 incident HCC cases. Compared to those with daily bowel movements, participants with bowel movement more than once per day had a multivariable HR of 1.93 (95%CI: 1.18 to 3.16) in the pooled cohorts. For the same comparison, the positive association appeared stronger for men (2.72, 95% CI: 1.14 to 6.44) than for women (1.63, 95% CI: 0.87 to 3.06) but there was no statistically significant heterogeneity by sex (P-value = .31). We found null associations between bowel movement every 2 days or less and the risk of HCC (HR = 1.05, 95%CI: 0.62 to 1.79). The HR (95%CI) for participants who used laxatives regularly relative to those who never used laxatives was 1.00 (0.64 to 1.55). Our results suggest participants with bowel movement more than once daily is associated with a higher risk of developing HCC compared to those with daily bowel movements. These findings need to be confirmed and potential mechanisms underlying this association need to be elucidated.
Source: International Journal of Cancer
DOI: 10.1002/ijc.33699
Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, Sichuan University, West China Medical Center of Sichuan University, Fudan University, Jilin University, Massachusetts General Hospital, CHA University Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Anhui Medical University, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Hepatology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: Dermatology Foundation, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Harvard University, Harvard University Center for AIDS Research, Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, National Institutes of Health, Center for AIDS Research, University of Washington, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Awards: Dana Farber/ Harvard Cancer Center SPORE in Gastrointestinal Cancer, Calcium and Colorectal Cancer: Gene-Environment Interactions and Molecular Pathways, G1416987869, G2347917588, G2625714000, G2750880407, G3392888841, G3754462075, Dietary and Hormonal Determinants of Cancer in Women, G4376790518, G5371529763, G538698522, Proteomics Study of Non-viral Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk, G7069133205, Long Term Multidisciplinary Study of Cancer in Women: The Nurses Health Study, Aspirin and Novel Lipid Mediators in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, G885693336, G9000122174, G9000157792, G9000190097, Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Cancer Epidemiology Cohort in Male Health Professionals
OpenAlex ID: W3165480805