Impact of chronic constipation on health‐related quality of life and work productivity in Japan

Background and Aim The impact of chronic constipation on health‐related quality of life (HRQoL), work productivity, and healthcare resource use in Japan is not well understood. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the humanistic burden of respondents with chronic constipation to respondents without chronic constipation and to respondents with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), respectively. Methods This cross‐sectional study collected demographic and general health data and HRQoL data as measured by the Short Form 12‐Item (Version 2) Health Survey and EuroQol 5‐dimension health surveys. Health impacts on employment‐related activities and indirect costs were measured using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire. Propensity score matching was used to identify a control group without chronic constipation. Multivariate generalized linear models were used to identify potential factors that may impact the outcomes of respondents. Results A total of 30 001 individuals responded to the Japan National Health and Wellness Survey 2017, whereof 3373 (11.2%) reported having chronic constipation; 963 were physician diagnosed. Compared with matched controls, patients with physician‐diagnosed chronic constipation had lower mean HRQoL scores and higher mean absenteeism, presenteeism, total Work Productivity and Activity Impairment, and indirect costs. Physician‐diagnosed chronic constipation was associated with a higher health burden than T2DM, IBS, and GERD. Conclusions Chronic constipation is associated with a considerable health burden, which is higher compared with T2DM, IBS, and GERD. These results suggest an urgent need for effective treatment of Japanese patients with chronic constipation to improve their quality of life.