Second from left: Yu Lifen, deputy chief physician and associate professor of the Department of Gastroenterology at Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai; second from right: Jim Jin, the general manager of Established Pharmaceuticals Business of Abbott China. Photo: courtesy of Abbott China

Gastrointestinal health issues, particularly constipation, now have become a health risk common among the general population, particularly stirred by poor living and eating habits. To enhance public awareness of gastrointestinal health, Abbott, the global healthcare giant recently launched its Restore Life's Rhythm campaign in Shanghai.

Jim Jin, the general manager of Established Pharmaceuticals Business of Abbott China, and Yu Lifen, deputy chief physician and associate professor of the Department of Gastroenterology at Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai gave an erudite insight, during the event, to the public on gastrointestinal health and lactulose, a safe and effective laxative.

According to Yu, around 170 million Chinese people suffer from constipation which is triggered by infrequent bowel movements or difficult passage of stools that persists for several months or longer. The elders, women, and office workers are especially venerable to constipation. 

A frequently occurring disease, constipation could have drastic outcomes like rectal cancer, hepatic encephalopathy, breast disease, and Alzheimer's disease, Yu said. Timely treatment, therefore, is highly recommended.

"In fact, regular exercise and a healthy diet is the basis for gastrointestinal health. A reasonable choice of medicines is also crucial. Lactulose is a safe and effective ingredient," Yu said during the event.

According to Yu, lactulose can enhance gastrointestinal tract movement without being absorbed by the human body, and more importantly, it helps to promote probiotic growth in the gastrointestinal tract, which can improve physical health.

Abbott's lactulose product, Duphalac is an OTC as well as a prescription drug. Jin believes that Duphalac leads the market in many aspects. "It is developed and manufactured in the Netherlands. It is sold in 114 countries and regions now, and has been available in the Chinese market for more than two decades," Jin said. "It's a classic lactulose product."

Constipation is usually caused by improper diet, lack of regular exercise, psychological factors, and side-effects of drugs. Therefore, regular exercise, a healthy diet and also understanding this disease are crucial for its prevention.  

However, ignorance and medicine abuse is quite common when symptoms show up due to a lack of awareness in gastrointestinal health. Abbotts, as Jin said, has been making efforts in sharing knowledge with the public.

"We have been holding public events to advocate healthy lifestyle, educating the public on recurrent constipation and its treatments, providing them with suggestions on exercises and diet, so as to help them take preventative measures against such diseases, and letting them know how to solve the problem when it happens," Jin told the Global Times.

"Besides, we have also been educating doctors at different levels and in various cities about gastrointestinal health and its treatment," Jin added.

Duphalac is now available in many pharmacies and hospitals and is also available on e-commerce platforms. But Abbott has plans to do more. According to Jin, Abbott is going to promote Duphalac in remote areas in the future to advance healthy China 2030 agenda. "It is easy to find Duphalac or lactulose in big cities and big hospitals now. We want our products to reach every corner of the country so that people can easily get lactulose when they want," Jin said.

According to Jin, digestive tract health is a major field that Abbott follows. In addition to the lactulose, Abbott also focuses on products helping digestion and enhancing gastric motility, as well as products used during gastroscopy and colonoscopy.

Global Times