Pooping only every 3 or more days linked with cognitive decline, research finds

[quickpsych]

Eat your fiber!

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/19/health/constipation-cognitive-decline-gut-health-wellness/index.html

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[cara susanna]

People with IBS-C be like:

(replace "die" with "get Alzheimers" or whatever)

 

[Sanman]

Having not read the article, I do wonder if there a third variable/covariate issue here. Those with significant medical issues and heavy doses of medication are more likely to be bound up for days. This is significantly less likely in the unmedicated population. Hence, sick people are more at risk for cognitive decline (and likely all cause mortality as well) as compared to healthy people. Well, yeah they are.

I still remember my social psych prof in undergrad talking about how consumption of oatmeal was correlated with an 80% increased risk of cancer.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Having not read the article, I do wonder if there a third variable/covariate issue here. Those with significant medical issues and heavy doses of medication are more likely to be bound up for days. This is significantly less likely in the unmedicated population. Hence, sick people are more at risk for cognitive decline (and likely all cause mortality as well) as compared to healthy people. Well, yeah they are.

I still remember my social psych prof in undergrad talking about how consumption of oatmeal was correlated with an 80% increased risk of cancer.

I couldn't find links to the actual studies in the article, but it appears that they mainly used subjective cognitive functioning, which my neuropsych colleagues have consistently said is pretty iffy.

 

[bcliff]

I couldn't find links to the actual studies in the article, but it appears that they mainly used subjective cognitive functioning, which my neuropsych colleagues have consistently said is pretty iffy.

tl;dr - somatically oriented patients tend to report more subjective cognitive difficulties.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I agree with concerns for third variable/covariate issues. And also with the focus on/use of subjective cognitive decline. Being constipated feels pretty crappy (pun intended), so I'm not surprised people would support co-occurring declines in lots of other areas (e.g., they do the same when depressed).

 

[cara susanna]

tl;dr - somatically oriented patients tend to report more subjective cognitive difficulties.

"People with chronic constipation tend to report more subjective cognitive difficulties" is definitely a less sexy headline.

 

[R. Matey]

From an equally credible source:

Spurious correlations: 15 examples - DataScienceCentral.com

Sometimes a correlation means absolutely nothing, and is purely accidental (especially when you compute millions of correlations among thousands of variables) or it can be explained by confounding factors. For instance, the fact that the cost of electricity is correlated to how much people spend...

www.datasciencecentral.com

 

[WisNeuro]

 

[annoyedpsychiatrist]

daily cup of metamucil ftw

 

[WisNeuro]

daily cup of metamucil ftw

In terms of evidence based interventions, metamucil is one of the easiest things to do for positive yield for people. Decent lit for regulation of bowel movement for people on both sides of the frequency distribution, blood sugar benefits, and small but consistent effect on cholesterol. Just be careful about which brands to recommend, there are some differences when they looked at say psyllium vs. wheat dextrin and other stuff commonly used in the off store brands.

tl;dr, I'm with you on the metamucil as part of your daily routine

 

[DynamicDidactic]

silliness

 

[PsychPhDone]

Who else avoided this thread for a while because they are 0% interested in learning about the other posters' poop habits?

🙋‍♀️

 

[WisNeuro]

 

[quickpsych]

 

[ClinicalABA]

If this is true and the corollary holds, I'm the smartest person in the world (or I should request a referral to a GI doc)

 

[R. Matey]

If this is true and the corollary holds, I'm the smartest person in the world (or I should request a referral to a GI doc)

Right, lol. Obviously it works the other way too. You'll probably get smarter as you age provided you stay regular.

 

[PsyDr]

You guys realize this is about how the GI tract is evidence of neurotransmitter, right? Like how movement disorders affect ALL movement including defecation.

It’s important to me that you understand that.

 

[Sanman]

If this is true and the corollary holds, I'm the smartest person in the world (or I should request a referral to a GI doc)

Nope, they mention pooping twice or more per day may also have a negative impact on cognitive function. You need to poop exactly once per day...preferably on a bathroom schedule. And you need to learn Klingon.