Skip to main content
Postgraduate Medical Journal logoLink to Postgraduate Medical Journal
. 1975 Sep;51(599):631–636. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.51.599.631

Haemorrhoids—postulated pathogenesis and proposed prevention

D P Burkitt, C W Graham-Stewart
PMCID: PMC2496194  PMID: 1105503

Abstract

The very high prevalence of haemorrhoids in the most economically developed countries is contrasted with their low prevalence in rural communities in developing countries. Traditional concepts of causation are shown to be no longer tenable. It is argued from epidemiological, clinical and experimental evidence that the fundamental cause of piles is straining at viscid stools which are the result of fibre-depleted diets.

Full text

PDF
631

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bremner C. G. The changing pattern of disease seen at Baragwanath hospital. S Afr J Surg. 1971 Jul-Sep;9(3):127–131. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Burkitt D. P. Some diseases characteristic of modern western civilization. A possible common causative factor. Clin Radiol. 1973 Jul;24(3):271–280. doi: 10.1016/s0009-9260(73)80037-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Burkitt D. P. Varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, and haemorrhoids: epidemiology and suggested aetiology. Br Med J. 1972 Jun 3;2(5813):556–561. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5813.556. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Burkitt D. P., Walker A. R., Painter N. S. Effect of dietary fibre on stools and the transit-times, and its role in the causation of disease. Lancet. 1972 Dec 30;2(7792):1408–1412. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(72)92974-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. DODD H. THE CAUSE, PREVENTION, AND ARREST OF VARICOSE VEINS. Lancet. 1964 Oct 10;2(7363):809–811. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(64)90579-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. GRAHAM-STEWART C. W. WHAT CAUSES HEMORRHOIDS?A NEW THEORY OF ETIOLOGY. Dis Colon Rectum. 1963 Sep-Oct;6:333–344. doi: 10.1007/BF02618390. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hyams L., Philpot J. An epidemiological investigation of hemorrhoids. Am J Proctol. 1970 Jun;21(3):177–193. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. PARKS A. G. The surgical treatment of haemorrhoids. Br J Surg. 1956 Jan;43(180):337–351. doi: 10.1002/bjs.18004318002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Postgraduate Medical Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES