Physical activity and constipation: A systematic review of cohort studies

Constipation significantly impacts quality of life and is a common public health issue. For affected individuals, especially those who are inactive and experience constipation symptoms, it is recommended to engage in physical activity (PA) to improve their condition. However, the relationship between PA and improvement in constipation remains unclear. We performed this systematic review of cohort studies to evaluate this potential association.

We systematically searched the Embase, Cochrane Library, PubMed, and CINAHL databases for all cohort studies examining the relationship between PA and constipation from the inception of the databases up to 5 November 2023. We calculated the reported risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), conducted a random effects model, and performed a subgroup analysis based on factors such as gender, geographic region, and PA intensity to comprehensively explore the link between PA and constipation. Furthermore, we used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to evaluate the quality of the studies included in our analysis.

The analysis included 13 studies with 119 426 participants and 63 713 cases. The results indicated that higher levels of PA were associated with a decreased risk of constipation compared with lower levels of PA (RR = 0.69; 95% CI = 0.88-0.83) and moderate levels of PA (RR = 0.87; 95% CI = 0.79-0.95). Furthermore, adherence to international PA guidelines was correlated with a significantly reduced risk of constipation (RR = 0.87; 95% CI = 0.81-0.93). Notably, the risk of constipation was lowered among Asian populations (RR = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.56-0.79) and Oceanian populations (RR = 0.72; 95% CI = 0.63-0.83) who engaged in regular PA. Moreover, when comparing the risk of constipation between men and women collectively, PA was associated with a 34% lower risk (RR = 0.66; 95% CI = 0.55-0.80).

The study findings indicated that moderate to high levels of PA significantly reduced the risk of constipation, showing a negative correlation between PA and constipation.

PROSPERO: CRD42023479653.