A small study of adults undergoing screening colonoscopy found that people who reported using smartphones while sitting on the toilet were more likely to have hemorrhoids detected during the procedure. The research, published in PLOS One, also found phone users spent longer on the toilet than non-users, though the authors cautioned the results show an association rather than proof that phones cause the condition.
Hemorrhoids are a common gastrointestinal complaint in the United States, and clinicians have long advised patients not to linger on the toilet. New research adds data to that advice, reporting a link between smartphone use during toilet time and a higher likelihood of hemorrhoids.
In the study, researchers surveyed 125 adults undergoing screening colonoscopy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston about their bathroom habits and other behaviors, including fiber intake, physical activity and straining. Two blinded endoscopists then independently assessed whether hemorrhoids were present during the colonoscopy.
Overall, 43% of participants had hemorrhoids visualized during the procedure. Sixty-six percent reported using a smartphone on the toilet, and those participants were younger on average than non-users (mean age 55.4 versus 62.1).
After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), exercise activity, straining and fiber intake, smartphone use on the toilet was associated with a 46% higher odds of having hemorrhoids (p = 0.044), the study reported.
The study also found large differences in time spent on the toilet. Among smartphone users, 37.3% reported spending more than five minutes per visit, compared with 7.1% of non-users (p = 0.006). The most common activities reported while on the toilet were reading news (54.3%) and using social media (44.4%).
Because the analysis was cross-sectional, the findings cannot determine whether smartphone use causes hemorrhoids, and the authors noted that further research is needed to clarify whether reducing time spent on the toilet—or limiting phone use in the bathroom—could lower risk.
Trisha Pasricha, a gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a senior author of the study, said the results support common clinical guidance to keep bathroom visits brief and avoid distractions such as phones.
The research was funded by the AGA Research Foundation, according to the study’s related institutional and news reports.
