Between 4 percent and 10 percent of adults in China suffer from recurrent constipation, and that proportion rises to 22 percent for those aged 60 or above, said experts at the 11th Green Ribbon Action held on the National Constipation Awareness Day, which fell on Thursday.

The event was held by multinational healthcare company Abbott and the China Health and Medical Development Foundation to advocate better care for digestive system health. Leading gastroenterologists were invited to share new findings and solutions to address digestive health issues.

Long-term constipation will not only cause discomfort, such as abdominal distension and pain, but may also trigger anorectal diseases, cardiovascular diseases and other health problems, said experts.

According to the China Cancer Statistics Report, the incidence and mortality rates of colorectal cancer in China ranked the second and fifth among all malignant tumors respectively, with 555,000 new cases and 286,000 deaths in 2020.

Experts stressed that early screening and standardized treatments are the key to improving prognosis and reducing the burden of disease. Colonoscopy screening can reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer by 56 percent and the risk of death by 57 percent, they said.

The campaign was also aimed to advance scientific education to help healthcare professionals in selecting the most appropriate treatment protocol or medicine to address gut-related issues.

Over the years, the Green Ribbon Action has trained more than 5,000 medical professionals in 20 provincial-level regions across the country.

"As a part of the campaign, we are committed to raising public awareness of digestive health and standardizing treatment. We'll continue to promote early screening and diagnosis of digestive diseases for patients' benefits," said Qian Jiaming, a chief physician at the department of digestive diseases of Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing.