Traveler's Constipation

The occurence of traveler's constipation is sparsely covered in the medical litterature. This study aims to determine the gastrointestinal-related discomforts related to traveling on a trip to Turkey.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Constipation; Travel-Related Illness
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Flight

Detailed Description

Traveler's constipation, which is characterized by the more hard and less frequent stools, is sparsely covered in the medical litterature. Only a few studies have examined this problem and the actual occurrence and extent of this problem is not known. Hypotheses about why travel constipation occurs are, among other things, about changed circadian rhythm due to jet lag, changed schedules and tight sanitary conditions. Other factors such as dehydration, change in cabin pressure and the content of the in-flight food in connection with flights have not been investigated.

The research project aims to clarify changes in the test subjects' bowel habits as well as other gastrointestinal-related discomforts in connection with a flight abroad with only an hour's time difference and without the consumption of flight food.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 35
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Denmark
  • Danmark
    • Herlev, Danmark, Denmark, 2730
      • Herlev Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Can understand danish and is able to answer the questionnaires
• Given written consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of intestinal resection
• Medically treated intestinal disease
• IBS at baseline

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: Flight; The intervention is the flight to turkey and home to Denmark again.	Behavioral: Flight; The participants are flying to turkey and back home. The flights are the intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stool frequency	The investigators are sending questionnaires to the participants of the study to decide wether the stool frequency decreases after flight to turkey. No scale used, simply time and number.	14 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Bristol Stool Chart.	The investigators are evaluating if the stool becomes less liquid indicating a prolonged transition time. On er Likert scale from 1-7, 7 being most wet.	14 days
VAS-IBS: Visual Analog Scale for Irritable Bowel Syndrome	Scale from 0-100 describing gastrointestinal bloating, pain and discomfort. 0 being good and 100 being bad	14 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Herlev Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 2, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 20, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): May 20, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 27, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 24, 2023
• First Posted (Estimated): December 5, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 5, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 24, 2023
• Last Verified: November 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Signs and Symptoms, Digestive; Constipation; Travel-Related Illness
• Other Study ID Numbers: F-23025419

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No