Do you have a habit of sitting on the toilet, scrolling through your phone? You might want to stop.
As PCMag reports, a team of researchers surveyed 125 adults at a Boston area medical center and found a correlation between using a phone while pooping and an increased risk of developing hemorrhoids. “Smartphone use on the toilet was associated with a 46% increased risk of hemorrhoids,” the paper found after adjusting for age, sex, exercise activity, and fiber intake, among other factors.
In case you don’t know, hemorrhoids are swollen veins that can develop around and inside the anus, and they can be quite painful. The problem often develops from straining during bowel movements, with diet and weight playing a major role. Harder stools or increased pressure typically mean more straining.
Another factor is how long you sit on a toilet, which can place a prolonged strain on your rear end. The paper notes that doctors have suspected that phone use on the toilet can cause hemorrhoids, but the research team wanted to conduct a scientific study, which was published this week in the peer-reviewed PLOS ONE journal.
Their effort involved 125 adults completing a survey that covered their smartphone habits on the toilet, along with their fiber intake and exercise habits. The researchers then conducted endoscopies to look for the presence of hemorrhoids inside each subject, and 43% of the participants had hemorrhoids visualized.
“Of all respondents, 83 (66%) used smartphones while on the toilet,” the study found, later adding: “Furthermore, smartphone users spent considerably more time on the toilet compared to non-smartphone users, with many spending more than five minutes on the toilet per visit.” Specifically, 37.3% of the phone users reported being on the toilet about six to 15 minutes too long, while only 7.1% of the non-phone users reported being on the toilet for over six minutes.
Researchers noted that prolonged sitting in a regular chair doesn’t lead to higher hemorrhoid risks. The difference is that “sitting on a standard toilet seat, without any support to the pelvic floor, disproportionately increases pressure in the hemorrhoidal cushions,” the team wrote. “As this pressure persists over time, these cushions may become engorged and thereby develop into appreciable hemorrhoids.”
Still, the study wasn’t designed to find an exact “causation” between phone use while on the toilet and increased hemorrhoid risk. The paper doesn’t appear to discuss adult participants who developed hemorrhoids and their exact phone habits.
In addition, the adult participants were all 45 years and older, which isn’t representative of the entire population. “Lastly, this study did not assess how long participants have been using smartphones on the toilet. Presumably, more years of smartphone use could lead to worsening toilet habits and increased risk of hemorrhoids,” the team added.
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