Functional intestinal lesions in adolescents and young adults: pathogenesis features, diagnosis, treatment optimization (literature review)

Abstract

Functional intestinal diseases (FID) in children and young adults are one of the frequent pathologies of the digestive tract. Signs of irritable bowel syndrome are detected in 36 % of children over 4 years of age, abdominal migraine is reported in 19 %, functional constipation — in 17 %, cyclic vomiting syndrome — in 8 % and functional abdominal pain syndrome (non-organ speci­fic) — in 7 %, aerophagy — in 7 % and functional dyspepsia — in 7 % of children. The pathogenesis of FID is multifaceted at different ages. This literature review presents contemporary views on the problem of FID in adolescents and young adults (18–25 years old). These age groups are studied because the manifestation of FID occurs mainly in adolescence and the clinical picture is observed at the age of 18–25 years. Currently, FID are defined as microinflammation in the intestinal mucosa, especially in post-infectious development of functional pathology. An altered microbiota, which affects Toll-like receptors of the intestinal epithelium, is also involved in the development of these pathologies. Polymorphism in the gene encoding Toll-like receptors influences the development of clinical symptoms in patients. The high prevalence of functional intestinal pathology among the population, in adolescents and young adults, calls for a more detailed study of mechanisms of FID development in order to optimize treatment, which will lead to an improvement in the quality of life of patients with this pathology.

Keywords

• functional diseases of the gastrointestinal tract
• children
• young adults
• review