Staller K, et al. - The patient characteristics linked to increased absenteeism and Emergency Department (ED) utilization was investigated by authors among patients with constipation who presented to a tertiary care center for anorectal manometry. It was determined that patients with high absenteeism and ED visits exhibited a greater tendency of being depressed. Findings displayed that only depression correlated with increased absenteeism. A trend was brought to light toward an association between depression and ED visits. Depression served as a stronger predictor of absenteeism than symptom severity among patients with chronic constipation. Depression could drive a portion of the indirect costs of chronic constipation.