Regular use of laxatives, a common treatment for constipation, can increase the risk of dementia by 50%, according to a new Chinese scientific study, the first to make this association.

The risk is even greater for those who frequently use osmotic laxatives, which draw water into the intestine to soften the stool.

The researchers, led by Dr. Feng Sha of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangdong, who published in the journal Neurology of the American Academy of Neurology, analyzed data on 502,229 people with an average age of 57 who had no dementia at the start of the survey and of which 18,235 (3.6%) made frequent use of a laxative.

Over the next ten years, 218 of the regular laxative users (1.3%) developed dementia, compared with 1,969 (0.4%) among those who did not use laxatives at all. It was thus estimated that laxatives increased the risk of dementia by 51%.

The more different types of laxatives someone used, the greater the increase in future risk of dementia: Specifically, 28% for those who used only one type of laxative, compared to 90% for those who took more than two types. Of those who used only one type of laxative, frequent osmotic laxative use had the greatest risk (64% increase).

“More research is needed to further investigate the link our study found between laxatives and dementia. If our findings are confirmed, doctors should encourage people to treat constipation through lifestyle changes such as drinking more water, increasing fiber in their diet and increasing activity in their daily lives,” he said. Dr. Sa.

“Regular laxative use can alter the gut microbiome, possibly affecting nerve signals from the gut to the brain or increasing the production of gut toxins that may affect the brain,” he added, noting that while the use of some laxatives does not should be frequent, some people nevertheless take them regularly.