Getting "Un" constipated in the 21st century. (Costipation–the "Low-serotonin syndrome")

Abstract

Constipation is a common syndrome, afflicting millions - that has so far defied a definitive cure, causing millions of physician visits per year, spending millions of dollars on over the counter medication, having economic consequences to the community/individuals and decreasing the quality of life.

Hypothesis: Can a proper application of wellness/lifestyle medicine decrease the risk of development of constipation, reverse the already establish constipation and improve the quality of life?

Methods: We investigated the public health problem with constipation in 21st century. We reviewed the recent literature on constipation from the perspectives of epidemiology, statistics, economic consequences, SES (social economic status), health literacy and education level, geographic area, gender, eating behavior, physical activity, stress level, co-morbidities, medication use and basic principles of the nature. Two reviewers performed reference search on Scholar Google and PubMed.

Results: We developed a theoretical model of constipation -the public health problem in the 21st century from the perspectives of risk factors, prevention, treatment and application of wellness/lifestyle medicine (tab. 1).

Conclusion: Constipation needs to be seen from completely different perspectives. We propose a new wellness/lifestyle medicine approach for prevention and treatment of constipation. It is necessary that health care providers will start to apply this approach into their medical model of treatment. We also suggest that constipation should not be seen as an isolated symptom, but as a first signal of potential biochemical imbalances in the body, which can lead to development of chronic diseases.