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. 2024 Jul 16;37(5):726-733.
doi: 10.1080/08998280.2024.2375903. eCollection 2024.

Larger vegetable intake helps patients with constipation: socioeconomic analysis from United States-based matched cohorts

Thanathip Suenghataiphorn  1 , Pojsakorn Danpanichkul  2 , Narathorn Kulthamrongsri  3 , Kanokphong Suparan  4 , Tuntanut Lohawatcharagul  5 , Natchaya Polpichai  6 , Jerapas Thongpiya  2
Affiliations

Larger vegetable intake helps patients with constipation: socioeconomic analysis from United States-based matched cohorts

Thanathip Suenghataiphorn et al. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). .

Abstract

Introduction: Constipation is one of the most common gastrointestinal complaints in the United States, and multiple interventions and behavioral changes are often required to alleviate it. Vegetables are often one of the diet recommendations for constipated patients, but the amount required for constipation impact is still limited.

Methods: We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study with the 2006 to 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. Patients >20 years old were stratified into four quartiles of vegetable intake. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine the association between vegetable intake and constipation status as recorded in the database.

Results: A total of 13,832 patients were included in the study. The average age was 50.5 years; 49.6% of the population was Caucasian, and 26.43% were Hispanic. In the population, 9.93% had constipation, and 92.65% had vegetable consumption. After adjusting for multiple factors, patients with larger vegetable consumption had lower odds of constipation (adjusted odds ratio 0.60; 95% confidence interval 0.49, 0.73; P < 0.001) when compared to the first quartile. Postpropensity score matching revealed similar statistical significance.

Conclusion: A larger amount of vegetable intake is associated with lower odds of constipation. Additional investigations on vegetable subtype, as well as the longitudinal relationship, are required to understand this relationship.

Keywords: Constipation; NHANES; diet; nutrition; vegetables.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no funding or conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Comparison before and after propensity matching.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Factors predicting constipation, by quartiles of vegetables intake, after propensity matching.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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