SEOUL, Jun 5, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Heavy drinking and adoption of a
western-style diet have made hemorrhoids the leading cause of hospitalization in
South Korea, doctors said.
Cataracts, natural childbirth, pneumonia and gastroenteritis, in that order,
followed hemorrhoids as the leading causes of hospitalization in South Korea
during the first quarter of 2009, the Health Insurance Review and Assessments
Service said Friday.
Hemorrhoids, the painful swelling of veins inside the anus, accounted for
235,461 days of hospitalization in the first quarter, compared with 213,395 days
for the same period in 2008, The Korea Times reported Friday.
In 1990, hemorrhoids were ranked 20th as the cause of hospitalization in South
Korea.
Doctors blame the rise in hemorrhoids on the adoption of a fat-laden western
diet and heavy alcohol consumption, Hwang Jae-taek, a spokesman for the
insurance review service.
"A lot of people these days don't eat enough fiber-rich foods and stay seated at
work for many hours, running the risk of hemorrhoids,'' Hwang said.
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