SynthesisInternational urogynecology journal2025
The Effectiveness of Caffeine in Reducing Constipation in Adults: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in International urogynecology journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Coffee Consumption and Risk of Incident Gastrointestinal Disease: A Large Prospective Cohort Study.Food science & nutrition · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introduction and hypothesisConstipation is defined as infrequent stools/difficultly passing stools, or the sensation of incomplete emptying. The prevalence of constipation is estimated at 14% worldwide. Caffeine is believed to increase gastric motility in the colon, causing a laxative effect. The results of the studies in the literature are conflicting. The aim of this review is to assess the effectiveness of caffeine in reducing constipation in adults.
methodsWe searched the Cochrane Library, AMED, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and CINAHL. Search terms included "constipation", "faecal impaction" and "caffeine" in different forms. The screening of the titles was carried out by two independent reviewers for trials that assessed the effect of caffeine on constipation. We assessed the quality of the studies included and the data collated. ROBINS-I and risk-of-bias tools were employed to assess for risk of bias in the studies included.
resultsEight studies were included in the final review. The studies assessed caffeine in the forms of coffee, tea, energy drinks, cocoa and kombucha with different doses. Three studies were at a low risk of bias, 3 were at a moderate risk of bias and the randomised controlled trial (RCT) had some concerns regarding blinding. Four studies concluded that caffeine may be effective in reducing constipation and 4 studies showed no improvement or an increase in constipation. Meta-analysis was not done as the studies were too dissimilar in interventions and outcome assessments.
conclusionThe results of the studies are conflicting. Further rigorously designed and conducted RCTs need to be carried out to substantiate the effectiveness of caffeine on reducing constipation in adults.
Indexed as
Identifiers
39666017What 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.