(NEXSTAR) – If you’re sitting on the toilet, maybe put the phone down and continue reading this another time.
The results of a recent study published in the medical journal PLOS One suggest a possible association between smartphone usage on the toilet and the prevalence of hemorrhoids, according to researchers.
The study, co-authored by researchers with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and the Cleveland Clinic, gathered data from 125 participants who visited Beth Israel Deaconess for colonoscopy screenings in 2024. Participants completed multiple questionnaires concerning their smartphone habits on the toilet, as well as other habits that might affect their bathroom behavior.
Their responses were then compared to “high-quality endoscopic images of retroflexion in the rectum” from their colonoscopy screenings, according to the study.
The results showed that participants who used their smartphones on the toilet — and were shown, on average, to spend more time in the bathroom — had a 46% increased risk of hemorrhoids, even when accounting for factors including age, sex, fiber intake or body-mass index, among other variables.
The researchers suggested that the amount of time spent on the toilet, and not necessarily “straining” while defecating, could be a “more accurate predictor” of whether or not a patient experiences hemorrhoids.
“This extended duration may be linked to the passive engagement that smartphones facilitate, potentially resulting in prolonged sitting and increased pressure in the hemorrhoidal cushions,” the researchers wrote.
They also said a toilet seat, as opposed to a chair, provides less support for the pelvic floor, which could cause the veins in the hemorrhoidal cushions (also known as anal cushions) to “become engorged and thereby develop into appreciable hemorrhoids.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, participants who reported spending more time on the toilet (and thus were more likely to have hemorrhoids) skewed a bit younger, suggesting hemorrhoids may become a bigger concern among future generations. (A survey conducted earlier this year also found that Gen Z respondents spend the most time scrolling through their phones on the toilet, at about 54 hours per year.)
The survey had its limitations, of course. Researchers acknowledged that the 125 participants may not be representative of the entire population, and that their questionnaires did not ask participants how long (e.g., in years or decades) they had been using their phones on the toilet. The doctors analyzing the colonoscopy results may have also differed in their ability to identify hemorrhoids.
Still, the researchers believed their study results offer “valuable” insight to healthcare professionals and folks who use their phones in the bathroom, suggesting to the latter group to sit on the toilet for no longer than five minutes per session.
“While it is a general adage that one should avoid prolonged toilet sitting, our study adds a concrete risk association between hemorrhoids and smartphone use, which may inadvertently prolong intended time on the toilet,” researchers wrote.