World's Biggest Study Of Multi-Million Pound Health Problem Launched

An embarrassing medical problem that costs UK health services £50m each year is to be investigated in the biggest-ever study of the condition in the world. Until now, constipation has largely been overlooked for major health studies but the new £650,000 project, which is funded by the British Government, led by a research team from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and aims to involve nearly 2,000 patients, changes that. In Britain, nearly half a million GP consultations each year concern patients with constipation, and doctors prescribe more drugs for the condition than they do for patients with diabetes or high blood pressure. Constipation affects one in five older people and the burden on healthcare resources is expected to increase as the proportion of older people in the population rises. The study, called LIFELAX, aims to recruit nearly 2,000 men and women with constipation aged 55 and over from 57 GP practices, making it the biggest study ever of the condition to date. LIFELAX will focus on the North of England, recruiting from practices in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire, but its outcomes will be used by the Government to inform the treatment of constipation by health professionals nationwide.