The following is an excerpt....
BASICS
Description
Laxative abuse, which may be intentional or unintentional, is a clinically important cause of chronic diarrhea. It manifests commonly as watery diarrhea caused by self-medication or as apparent diarrhea caused by adding various fluids to stool.
- System(s) affected: GI; Nervous; Psychiatric
- Synonym(s): Factitious diarrhea; Cathartic colon
Epidemiology
- Predominant age: 18–40 years with bulimia or anorexia nervosa; 40–60 years without eating disorders
- Predominant sex: Female (90%) > Male
- Children may be given excess laxation by their caregivers (especially mothers), an example of Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
Prevalence
Laxative abuse in different groups:
- Unexplained chronic diarrhea after routine investigations: 3.5–7%
- Patients with binging/purging anorexia and bulimia nervosa: As many as 70%
- Referrals to ...
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