Elsevier

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 177, October 2016, Pages 39-43.e3
The Journal of Pediatrics

Original Article
Prevalence of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Children and Adolescents

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.04.008Get rights and content

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders (FGIDs) in children and adolescents in a representative community sample of the US.

Study design

The study recruited a general population sample of mothers (n = 949) of children and adolescents aged 4-18 years. Child and adolescent GI symptoms were assessed using parental report through online questionnaires, including the Questionnaire on Pediatric Gastrointestinal Symptoms and the PedsQL4.0 Generic Core Scale. Parental GI symptoms, and demographic characteristics were also assessed. The data was used to determine prevalence of FGIDs.

Results

Using Rome III criteria by parental report, 23.1% of children and adolescents qualified for at least 1 FGID. Functional constipation and abdominal migraine were the most common FGIDs. All 10 child/adolescent FGIDs occurred, except rumination. Significant prevalence differences were not found between sexes, except in functional constipation, which was more prevalent in males than females (P = .022). There were no significant prevalence differences between racial or ethnic groups. Children who met criteria for an FGID had lower quality of life (median = 76.4) than children who did not (median = 89.6; P < .001). Children were more likely to qualify for a FGID if their parent also qualified for a FGID (P < .01).

Conclusions

FGIDs are common in children and adolescents in the US. There are no significant differences in FGIDs between sex, race, or ethnic groups, except in functional constipation. There is overlap between parental and child FGID symptoms. Children with a FGID report a lower quality of life than healthy children.

Section snippets

Methods

This study used a nationwide Internet survey in order to examine the prevalence of functional GI symptoms in children between ages 0-18 years.

The subjects were mothers of children ages 0-18 years old, who were recruited from all 50 states in the US, plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico. Cint USA, Inc (Lawrenceville, New Jersey; www.cint.com) provided the subjects from a pool of individuals who joined online panels to answer a variety of surveys (such as marketing, opinion polls, etc). Cint USA,

Results

The study included 1447 mothers of children aged 0-18 years old. Of these, 1127 subjects provided information about children ages 4-18 years, and 949 (84.2%) of the responses about children aged 4-18 years were judged valid (provided consistent survey answers on quality/validity checks). Table I contains the general demographics and characteristics of the sample.

Mothers reported on the following existing physician-diagnosed GI disorders in their children: constipation (1 participant–remained in

Discussion

This study provides a comprehensive picture of the prevalence of FGIDs in a representative sample of children in the US. The sample included a significant proportion of minorities, who have been underrepresented in previous FGID prevalence research. In the population studied, almost one-quarter (23.1%) of children and adolescents qualified for least one FGID according to Rome III diagnoses.

This study found similar prevalence rates of IBS,2, 7, 9 aerophagia,21, 22 and abdominal migraine2, 7, 10

References (39)

  • E. Udoh et al.

    Abdominal pain predominant functional gastrointestinal disorders in adolescent Nigerians

    J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr

    (2016)
  • N.M. Devanarayana et al.

    Abdominal pain-predominant functional gastrointestinal diseases in children and adolescents: prevalence, symptomatology, and association with emotional stress

    J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr

    (2011)
  • N.M. Devanarayana et al.

    Prevalence of functional gastrointestinal diseases in a cohort of Sri Lankan adolescents: comparison between Rome II and Rome III criteria

    J Trop Pediatr

    (2011)
  • T. Sagawa et al.

    Functional gastrointestinal disorders in adolescents and quality of school life

    J Gastroenterol Hepatol

    (2013)
  • M.A. van Tilburg et al.

    Psychosocial mechanisms for the transmission of somatic symptoms from parents to children

    World J Gastroenterol

    (2015)
  • R.L. Levy et al.

    Increased somatic complaints and health-care utilization in children: effects of parent IBS status and parent response to gastrointestinal symptoms

    Am J Gastroenterol

    (2004)
  • J.V. Campo et al.

    Physical and emotional health of mothers of youth with functional abdominal pain

    Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med

    (2007)
  • A. Caplan et al.

    Validation of the pediatric Rome II criteria for functional gastrointestinal disorders using the questionnaire on pediatric gastrointestinal symptoms

    J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr

    (2005)
  • A. Caplan et al.

    Development and preliminary validation of the questionnaire on pediatric gastrointestinal symptoms to assess functional gastrointestinal disorders in children and adolescents

    J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr

    (2005)
  • Cited by (0)

    Supported by the Rome Foundation. However, the Rome Foundation did not have any role in study design, the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, writing of the report, and the decision to submit the paper for publication. O.P., W.W., and M.vT. currently are part of the Rome Committee. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

    View full text