Squatting and Risk of Colorectal Cancer:A Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND The sitting position, rather than squatting, during defecation has been hypothesized to be a risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS We conducted a case-control study to test this hypothesis.A total of 100 CRC cases from two hospitals in Iran and 100 control subjects, selected from the coronary care unit (CCU) of those same hospitals were selected for this study. We administered a detailed questionnaire to the study subjects asking about history of toilet use and other relevant confounders. RESULTS In logistic regression analysis, the crude and adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for using sitting toilets in any decade were 1.20 (0.89 - 1.61) and 1.07 (0.72 - 1.59), respectively. Also, the crude and adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for using 10 more years of sitting toilets were as 1.16 (0.92 - 1.47) and 1.02 (0.74 - 1.40), neither of which indicated a statistically significant increase in risk. CONCLUSION Our study did not support an appreciable role for using sitting toilets as risk factors for CRC.