Bowel movements that are too frequent or too infrequent are associated with declines in cognition
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Constipation is linked to an increased risk of cognitive deterioration. The discovery adds to a growing body of information demonstrating that gut health has a role in dementia and associated conditions like Alzheimer’s.
Chaoran Ma of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her colleagues examined data from over 110,000 persons to better understand how constipation affects brain function. Between 2012 and 2013, everyone reported the frequency of their bowel motions. Their own memory, focus, and other cognitive abilities were tested over a two- to four-year period through survey.
The researchers discovered that people with chronic constipation (bowel motions every three days or more) had worse cognitive performance than those with daily bowel movements, amounting to three years of cognitive ageing.
Chronic constipation was linked to a 73% greater risk of cognitive impairment, whereas having more than one bowel movement per day was linked to a 37% increased risk.
A genetic examination of 515 individuals’ stool samples found that those with poor cognition and persistent constipation had less gut bacteria for processing dietary fibre. In addition, they had more gut bacteria known to promote inflammation than the other subjects.
According to Ma, who presented these findings at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in the Netherlands on July 19, variations in gut flora may explain why persistent constipation is associated to poor brain function. Persistent inflammation, for example, is known to harm neurons in Alzheimer’s patients.
“However, our study wasn’t meant to look for links between bowel movements, the gut microbiome, and cognitive function,” she says. Nonetheless, these data provide credence to the assumption that gut health is inextricably linked to brain health.
“All of our body systems are interconnected.” “When one system fails, it has an effect on other systems,” said Heather Snyder of the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago in a statement. “Eating well and taking care of your gut may be a pathway to reduce the risk of dementia,” she says.
