PLoS ONE (Jan 2020)

Behavioral and emotional problems in adolescents with constipation and their association with quality of life.

  • Shaman Rajindrajith,
  • Nayomi Ranathunga,
  • Nirodha Jayawickrama,
  • Marieke van Dijk,
  • Marc A Benninga,
  • Niranga Manjuri Devanarayana

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239092
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 10
p. e0239092

Abstract

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ObjectivesTo assess behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents with functional constipation and their relationship with psychological maladjustment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).DesignA school-based cross-sectional survey conducted in 8 randomly selected schools from 4 randomly selected districts in Sri Lanka. A previously validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Behavioral and emotional problems were assessed using the Sinhala version of the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL-S/4-18). Constipation was diagnosed by applying the Rome III criteria.ResultsA total of 1000 questionnaires were distributed, and 913 completed questionnaires were included in the analysis. Sixty adolescents (6.5%) had functional constipation. Scores obtained for isolated psychological problems such as withdrawal (3.1 [3.1] vs. 1.9 [2.4], pConclusionsAdolescents with functional constipation are suffering from significant behavioral and emotional problems. These problems negatively affect their HRQoL.