Daily alcohol intake and its negative association with constipation

Alcohol consumption’s association with constipation has not been adequately studied in large-scale population research. A study investigated the association between daily alcohol intake and constipation in adults, analysing data from the 2005–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Data from NHANES participants aged over 20 years from 2005 to 2010 were analysed and the association between daily alcohol intake and constipation were assessed. A total of 14,465 participants were included in the study. Participants were categorised based on daily alcohol intake into five groups: non-drinking (Q1) at 0 g, with 10,095 participants; light drinking (Q2) ranging from 0.1 to 10 g, with 1,300 participants; moderate drinking (Q3) from 10.1 to 20 g, with 959 participants; heavy drinking (Q4) from 20.1 to 40 g, with 1,102 participants; and heavier drinking (Q5) over 40 g, with 1,009 participants.
After adjusting for multiple confounders, a significant inverse association was found between daily alcohol intake (as a continuous variable) and constipation, with an OR of 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96–0.99). Compared to non-drinkers (Q1), the risk of constipation progressively decreased among light (Q2), moderate (Q3), heavy (Q4), and very heavy drinkers (Q5). In the analysis, the OR for the heaviest drinkers (Q5) was 0.24 (95% CI: 0.11–0.52), with a significant trend test. Restricted cubic spline analysis revealed a significant nonlinear inverse relationship between alcohol intake and constipation. No significant interactions were observed in the subgroup analysis.
This study identified a significant inverse association between daily alcohol intake and constipation. Future research should employ more rigorous designs, such as prospective cohort studies, to confirm the association between alcohol intake and gut health and to elucidate the underlying biological mechanisms to assess the potential benefits and risks of alcohol consumption.

Source: Chen, WX., Peng, XF., Yu, M. et al. Daily alcohol intake and its negative association with constipation based on NHANES data 2005–2010. Sci Rep 15, 10021 (2025).