Background:
Hemorrhoids, a gastrointestinal tract disorder, are common during pregnancy. However, large-scale epidemiological studies on
hemorrhoids during pregnancy are limited. Therefore, this study used analyzed data from a nationwide population-based database to investigate the prevalence, characteristics, and treatment of
hemorrhoids in Taiwan. Materials and Methods: This retrospective population-based study used data from the National Health Insurance Research Database and Taiwan Birth Certificate Application to collect the medical records of women who were pregnant at any time during 2009-2018.
Hemorrhoids was defined by International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) (455. X) and International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) (K64.X, O22.4X) with related treatment. Results: We enrolled 1,608,804 deliveries in 1,070,708 women. The proportion of
hemorrhoids increased with age in both primipara and multipara women. Of the pregnant women, 31% received oral medication, and 93.2% used the topical
ointment to treat their
hemorrhoids. Few patients (1.8%) required procedure or surgery during pregnancy, and 41.4% of those patients underwent procedure or surgery in their first trimester. The cumulative incidence of
hemorrhoids during pregnancy was significantly higher in women with a history of
hemorrhoids and those with multifetal pregnancies. No significant difference in the incidence of
hemorrhoids was observed between multiparous and primiparous women. Conclusion: Women with a history of
hemorrhoids or those carrying multiple fetuses had an increased risk of
hemorrhoids during pregnancy. The most commonly used treatment for
hemorrhoids during pregnancy was topical
ointments, with only a small proportion (1.8%) of patients requiring procedure or surgery.