Smartphone and haemorrhoid risk: Scrolling on the toilet may be more than a bad habit. A study of 125 adults scheduled for colonoscopies found that bringing a smartphone into the bathroom was associated with a 46% greater risk of haemorrhoids, after adjusting for age and activity levels. Two-thirds of participants reported using their phones on the toilet.
Phone use also stretched bathroom time: 37% of phone users spent more than 5 minutes per visit versus 7% of non-users, making phone users about five times more likely to linger. Most didn’t realise the effect; only 5% said their phone lengthened their stay “most or all of the time.” The researchers reported no sex-based differences in time spent and no significant link between self-reported straining and haemorrhoids.
Also Read | What causes anal itching? Infections and other possibilities explained
Lead author Dr Trisha Pasricha of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said the results point to time on the toilet, not straining, as the key risk factor, likely due to reduced pelvic floor support in the seated position, which can engorge haemorrhoidal cushions. Dr Lucinda Harris of the Mayo Clinic, not involved in the study, called the mechanism plausible, likening prolonged toilet time to other states that raise pelvic pressure.
The authors stressed that the findings are observational and do not prove causation. An intervention trial, asking some participants to avoid phones on the toilet, is planned to test whether cutting screen time reduces haemorrhoid risk.
For now, the team’s practical takeaway: leave the smartphone outside; if you must read, use something less addictive that won’t make you lose track of time.
