People who admit to checking their phones while sitting on the toilet are more likely to have hemorrhoids than those who keep the bathroom tech‑free. This finding comes from a recent study led by Dr. Chethan Ramprasad at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Hemorrhoids Are Very Common
Hemorrhoids affect millions of Americans each year. They cause swollen veins around the anus, which can hurt and bleed. In the United States they lead to almost 4 million doctor visits and cost over $800 million in health care.
What the Study Looked At
The researchers surveyed 125 adults who were getting routine colonoscopies. Participants answered questions about their daily habits and how they behave while using the bathroom. Doctors then checked each person for signs of hemorrhoids.
About two‑thirds of the volunteers said they use a smartphone on the toilet. Those users were generally younger than the non‑users.
Smartphone Users Had Higher Risk
After accounting for age, exercise, and fiber intake, the team found that phone‑using toilet goers had a 46 % higher chance of having hemorrhoids compared with people who left their phones out of the bathroom.
Longer Bathroom Stays May Explain the Link
People who used phones also tended to sit longer. Roughly 37 % of phone users stayed on the toilet for more than five minutes in a single visit, while only 7 % of non‑users did the same.
Most participants said they were reading news or scrolling social media while on the toilet. The study did not find a link between straining during bowel movements and hemorrhoid risk, which differs from some older research.
What This Means for Your Health
The results suggest that keeping a phone out of the bathroom could help reduce the time you spend sitting and lower pressure on the anal area. Doctors may use this information to give simple advice: limit bathroom time and avoid distractions.
One researcher summed it up: "Leave the smartphone outside the bathroom and try to finish in a few minutes. If it takes longer, think about why—maybe you need to move more, not just scroll."
Funding for the work came from the AGA Research Foundation's Research Scholar Award (AGA2022‑13‑03). The foundation had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, or manuscript preparation.