Chronic Constipation in the United States: Results From a Population-Based Survey Assessing Healthcare Seeking and Use of Pharmacotherapy.

"CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Guarantor of the article: Christopher V. Almario, MD, MSHPM. Specific author contributions: S.J.O., G.F., W.S., A.N., B.M.R.S., and C.V.A.: substantial contributions to the conception and design of the work; acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for the work; drafting the work and revising it critically for important intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published. D.P. and C.K.: substantial contributions to the design of the work; acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for the work; drafting the work and revising it critically for important intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published. Financial support: This study was funded by the Shire Human Genetic Therapies, a member of the Takeda group of companies. The Cedars-Sinai Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CS-CORE) is supported by The Marc and Sheri Rapaport Fund for Digital Health Sciences & Precision Health. C.V.A. is supported by a career development award from the American College of Gastroenterology. C.V.A. and B.M.R.S. are supported by a CTSI grant from the NIH/NCATS UL1TR001881-01. Potential competing interests: W.S. and A.N. are employees of Shire, a member of the Takeda group of companies, and stockholders of Takeda. B.M.R.S. has the following relevant disclosures: grant support from AstraZeneca and Takeda Pharmaceuticals; consulting fees from Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Synergy Pharmaceuticals, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. C.V.A. has the following relevant disclosures: speaker's fee from Takeda Pharmaceuticals; consulting fees from Bayer U.S. and Synergy Pharmaceuticals. The remaining authors do not have any relevant disclosures. Previous presentation: This work was presented at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting; October 5-10, 2018; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Writing assistance: No medical writing support was received. All content for the manuscript was written and developed by the authors.Study HighlightsWHAT IS KNOWN✓ Chronic constipation is a common and costly disorder that significantly affects health-related quality of life.✓ Comparatively less is known about healthcare seeking behaviors in relation to constipation and the use of medicines for treating constipation among the general population.WHAT IS NEW HERE✓ In this population-based study of community-dwelling Americans, we found that only 37.6% of those with constipation have discussed their symptoms with a healthcare provider.✓ We also found that 47.8% of respondents are currently taking medications to manage their constipation, most of whom rely on OTC therapies."

"Financial support: This study was funded by the Shire Human Genetic Therapies, a member of the Takeda group of companies. The Cedars-Sinai Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CS-CORE) is supported by The Marc and Sheri Rapaport Fund for Digital Health Sciences & Precision Health. C.V.A. is supported by a career development award from the American College of Gastroenterology. C.V.A. and B.M.R.S. are supported by a CTSI grant from the NIH/NCATS UL1TR001881-01."