Most Constipated Cities In The UK

PRG analysed NHS England data on Laxative prescriptions to find the most constipated regions in England.

In total, NHS England spent £113,683,720 in the last 12 months on 18,652,941 boxes of laxatives. (Sep 21—Aug 22)

NHS North East London spent an eye watering £3,280,365.00 alone on Laxatives in their last financial year (Sep 21—Aug 22) but they weren't the most constipated city based on cost per 1,000 patients.

Source: OpenPrescribing.net, Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, University of Oxford, 2022

5 Biggest NHS England Spenders On Laxatives

Prescription data for section code (laxatives 1.6) from September 2021 – August 2022. Accessed November 2022 from Open Prescribing (https://openprescribing.net/

Highest NHS England Yearly Spend Per 1000 Patients

Prescription data for section code (laxatives 1.6) from September 2021 – August 2022. Yearly spend divided by 12 months, divided by August 22 patient list numbers then multiplied by 1000. Accessed November 2022 from Open Prescribing (https://openprescribing.net/

Liverpool The Most Constipated City In England

Data showed that NHS SOUTHPORT AND FORMBY who had 126,856.00 registered patients (Aug 22) spent an eye watering £433,651 on 69,032 boxes of Laxatives (Sep 21 - Aug 22) topping the charts with 45.93 out 1,000 patients (Aug 22 Data) requiring the use of Laxatives for constipation.

Whilst the top 5 biggest spenders of Laxatives spent upwards of 3 million pounds in their respective financial years this was not indicative of their populations constipation issues.

When dividing the costs versus with their patient lists, the top spenders had some of the lowest ratios per 1000 patients. In August 2022 for example, NHS South East London had 16.40 patients out of 1000 requiring Laxatives.

The North More Constipated Than The South Of England

London The Least Constipated City In England

Data from the least constipated cities clearly showed that the south of England had some of the lowest rates of NHS Laxatives prescribed.

16.40 out 1,000 patients were prescribed laxatives in South East London, 17.63 at Berkshire West and 17.79 in Frimley. (Aug 22)

NHS Guidance On Constipation

The NHS states that if you have been unable to poo more than 3 times in the last 7 days, you may be constipated. Also having large hard poo's plus straining were other characteristics for a constipation diagnosis.

The NHS states that not eating enough fruit & veg with fiber, not enough fluids, lack of movement, medication side effects and mental health could all contribute to constipation issues.

The NHS recommends contacting your GP if your constipation isn't improving with treatment, have blood in your poor, have weight loss, feel tired or are bloated for long time. Long-term constipation could lead to faecal impaction which could then require "stronger laxatives – prescribed by a GP" according to the NHS website.

Closing Thoughts: Dietary Changes Could Save the NHS millions

"There are of course several reasons of that could have influenced Newcastle & Liverpool in Northern England having higher rates of Laxative use.

One is that, the average resident there was just more open to talking about their constipation issues with their GP versus an average person in the south.

It's also likely that poor dietary habits in the north vs a healthier diet with more fibre in the south was what led to differences in constipation numbers.

The NHS could save millions of pounds by encouraging people in these high percentile areas to eat more fiber, drink more water and get more daily exercise.

Eating more fermented probiotics foods with Lactobacillus bacteria could also be another low cost enjoyable option to help with constipation.

Kefir Milk, Kimchi, Sauerkraut and Organic yogurts are all tasty probiotics a constipated person could add to their diet.

These foods contain Lactobacillus probiotic that have been studied for functional constipation in adults. As well as containing probiotic bacteria, Kimchi & Sauerkraut also are a great source of prebiotic fiber which work as a source of fuel for probiotic bacteria.

Kefir Milk & Organic Yogurts are great breakfast options and can be eaten along side oats which are a fibre powerhouse. Doing this every morning could help you avoid issues with constipation and save the NHS some cash."

- Alicia Harper Microbiome Nutritionist & Editor of PRG

See My Full Spreadsheet Analysis Here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lOsiv3smMYmxPQhdfzAyXgeM-SF3SPuaN3Vvu79AvYg/edit?usp=sharing