Chronic diarrhea (CD) is significantly more prevalent in people with diabetes compared to those without, while chronic constipation (CC) is not, according to a new study. Analyses were performed using data from individuals in the 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dataset who completed the Bowel Health Questionnaire. Among the findings:

• 661 persons with diabetes and 4,488 individuals without diabetes were identified.
• Subjects with diabetes (25.8%) reported disordered bowel habits.
• In unadjusted analysis, CD was more prevalent in those with diabetes than in those without diabetes (11.2% vs 6.0%).
• However, the prevalence of CC was not significantly different between groups (14.6% vs 11.2%).
• Diabetes remained associated with CD after adjusting for covariates.