Study of association between lifestyle and hemorrhoids among patients referring to Tehran University of medical sciences hospitals in 2007

Hemorrhoid is a chronic disease that has been known as a problem since 4 thousand years ago. Healthy lifestyle is an important mean of decreasing incidence and complications of chronic diseases. Considering the vast influence of lifestyle on chronic diseases symptoms, the goal of this study was to determine these influences on hemorrhoid. The present research is a case-control analytical study. The study population included all patients with hemorrhoid referring to Tehran University of medical sciences hospitals. The study group comprised 101 patients suffering from hemorrhoid, and the control group included 101 healthy individuals. Both groups have been matched in age and sex. The data were collected by using a questionnaire. The questionnaire scientific validity and reliability were determined with content validity and test-retest respectively. We used descriptive and inferential (Chi-square test, Fisher exact test and Mann-Whitney test) statistics for analyzing data. The majority of patients in study group didn’t have their meals on a fixed schedule (p<0.001), had less than three meals per day (p=0.021), had less daily fluid consumption (p=0.001), always used spicy food (p=0.001), and had less fiber consumption, had sedentary activities (p<0.001), never had walkings (p=0.001), and neither in past nor in present they had exercises, had defecation only one time in 3-5 days (p<0.001) with severe pressure and difficulty, and the duration between 5-10 minutes (p<0.001). This study showed that there was a significant relationship between lifestyle and hemorrhoid.