HES on... Constipation

Constipation is a common digestive complaint that is most likely to result in hospital treatment for children and older people. This article gives an overview of the condition and highlights related 2007-08 HES data.

What is constipation?

Constipation is a common digestive complaint. The term 'constipation' can describe a change in bowel movements that results in a patient going to the toilet less often than is usual for them, or a situation where an individual has difficulty passing stools because they are hard and small.

Constipation is often caused by a low-fibre diet, medication or dehydration, among other things.

Who does it affect?

HES data for the data year 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2025 shows that, in England, children and older people are the most likely to be treated in hospital with the condition (see graph below).

HES facts and figures

HES data for a primary diagnosis of constipation (diagnosis code K59.0 in ICD-10) shows that:

• three quarters (75 per cent) of hospital admissions for constipation are emergency admissions, rather than from waiting lists
• the average (mean) time that patients remained in hospital was 3.6 days
• most patients didn't undergo coded procedures. Where procedures were carried out, the most common were diagnostic endoscopic examinations of:
• the lower bowel, using fibreoptic sigmoidoscope: unspecified (H25 in OPCS-4.4)
• the colon (H22 in OPCS-4.4)
• it was responsible for 53,367 episodes of admitted patient care, accounting for 135,273 occupied bed days.

More information on this topic is available from NHS Choices here.