Frontiers in Psychiatry (Sep 2024)

Association between bowel movement disorders and depressive symptoms: a cross-sectional study

  • Linyue Wang,
  • Linyue Wang,
  • Maosheng Tian,
  • Hongyuan Sun,
  • Hongyuan Sun,
  • Jihua Gao,
  • Wenyue Qi,
  • Jiancheng Xu,
  • Yongkang An,
  • Wencong Xu,
  • Wencong Xu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1449948
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

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ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore the association between bowel movement disorders and depression in adults.MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES), 2005–2010. Depression, constipation, diarrhea, and fecal incontinence were self-reported via questionnaires. Weighted logistic regression and subgroup analyses were performed to explore the association between bowel movement disorders and the risk of depression. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) was also conducted to investigate the association between bowel movements disorder and depression.ResultsA total of 13,820 participants were collected. Compared to the participants with normal bowel movements, the full-adjusted depression model ORs for constipation and diarrhea were 2.28 (95%CI,1.78-2.92), 1.75 (95%CI,1.31-2.31), respectively. Any kind of bowel leakage were associated with depression. The RCS showed the possible nonlinear association between bowel movement frequency/stool shape and depression.ConclusionsConstipation, diarrhea, and bowel leakage are associated with an increased risk of depression.

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