ReviewJournal of clinical medicine2021
Laxative Use in the Community: A Literature Review.
Review in Journal of clinical medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Constipation Mitigation by Rhubarb Extract in Middle-Aged Adults Is Linked to Gut Microbiome Modulation: A Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Trial
- Physicochemical, Bioactive, and Clinical Evaluation of Blueberry-Enriched Kombucha as a Functional Beverage.Journal of food science · 2026Article
- Using supermarket loyalty card data to investigate seasonal variation in laxative purchases in the UK.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- New Insights into a Conceptual Bionic Colonic Bioreactor: A Model, 'Probiotics in Human Colon', Showing How Probiotics Alleviate Constipation from a Bioprocess Engineering Perspective.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Bowel Health, Laxative Use, and Cognitive Function in Older Puerto Rican Adults.Journal of aging research · 2025Article
- Rhein: An Updated Review Concerning Its Biological Activity, Pharmacokinetics, Structure Optimization, and Future Pharmaceutical Applications.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Factors Associated with Defecation Satisfaction among Japanese Adults with Chronic Constipation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Prevalence and patterns of laxative use in subjects with self-reported constipation: results from a multinational digestive health survey.Therapeutic advances in gastroenterology · 2024Article
- The Effect of Chronic Laxative Use on Lipid Profile and HbA1c: A Hospital-Based Retrospective Study.Cureus · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Laxatives are widely available without prescription and, as a consequence, they are commonly used for self-management of constipation by community-dwelling adults. However, it is not clear to what extent laxatives are used. Nor is it clear how laxatives are chosen, how they are used and whether consumers are satisfied with their performance. This review of published literature in the last 30 years shows the prevalence of laxative use in community-dwelling adults varied widely from 1% to 18%. The prevalence of laxative use in adults with any constipation (including both chronic and sporadic constipation) also varied widely from 3% to 59%. Apart from any geographical differences and differences in research methodologies, this wide range of estimated prevalence may be largely attributed to different definitions used for laxatives. This review also shows that laxative choice varies, and healthcare professionals are infrequently involved in selection. Consequently, satisfaction levels with laxatives are reported to be low and this may be because the laxatives chosen may not always be appropriate for the intended use. To improve constipation management in community and primary healthcare settings, further research is required to determine the true prevalence of laxative use and to fully understand laxative utilisation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.