Smartphone use on toilet increases risk of haemorrhoids

RTÉ News​

14-05-2025

A new scientific study has found that using smartphones on the toilet increases the risk of haemorrhoids.
The study was presented at an annual meeting of medical experts in San Diego last week.
It concluded that smartphone users spent significantly more time on the toilet and had a 46% increased risk for haemorrhoids than non-users.
The findings came from a cross-sectional survey of 125 adult patients undergoing colonoscopies for screening purposes.
The survey asked about smartphone habits while using the toilet, as well as other behaviours such as straining, fibre intake, and physical activity.
It found that 43% of all participants in the survey had haemorrhoids confirmed visually during their colonoscopy.
However, when that was adjusted to take account of age, sex, body mass index, and behavioural patterns, it revealed that those who used smartphones while on the toilet had a 46% increased risk of piles.
The survey found that those who use smart phones while on the toilet spent significantly more time there than those who did not.
A total of 37.3% spent more than six minutes there, compared with just 7.1% of non-users who stayed that long.
In addition, 35% of smart phone users said they spent more time on the toilet because of using their smartphones while there.
Out of the 125 participants in the survey, 66% used smartphones while on the toilet.
The vast majority of that group, 93%, said they did so at least one to two times per week or more.
More than half, 55.4%, said they used their smart phone most of the time while on the toilet.
Reading the news on the toilet was the most common activity, with 54.3% saying they did so.
This was followed by social media at 44.4%.
In total 30.5% attended to emailing and texting on the toilet.
The study was presented in San Diego by Dr Trisha Satya Pasricha of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston.
She was speaking during Digestive Disease Week, an event for professionals working in gastroenterology, hepatology, GI endoscopy, gastrointestinal surgery and related fields.
The conclusion of Dr Satya Pasricha was that "prolonged engagement with smartphones while using the toilet may be associated with an increased prevalence of haemorrhoids".
She called for further research to explore the causal relationships and examine behavioural modifications as strategies for preventing haemorrhoid development.