Frequency of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Children with Recurrent Abdominal Pain

Abstract

Background: Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are common disorders characterized by chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, not related to structural or biochemical abnormalities Objective: To determine the frequency of FGIDs in children with complaints of recurrent abdominal pain. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done at the outpatient department of pediatrics, National Institute of Child Health, Karachi, Pakistan from October 2022 to March 2023. Children of either gender aged 1-12 years with complaints of recurrent abdominal pain were analyzed. Socio-demographic characteristics along with presenting complaints and types of FGIDs were noted. Results: In a total of 188 children, the mean age was 7.22±1.96 years while 107 (56.9%) children were boys. The mean duration of symptoms was 2.7±1.8 months. The most frequent presenting complaints were pain during bowel movement, nausea, and epigastric pain reported by 88 (46.8%), 75 (39.9%), and 64 (34.0%) children respectively. Frequency distribution of functional GI disorders revealed that functional abdominal pain was the commonest noted in 72 (38.3%) children while irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia were found among 38 (20.2%) and 37 (19.7%) children respectively. Stratification of functional GI disorders showed a statistically significant relationship (p<0.001) concerning presenting complaints. Conclusion: Among children with FGIDs, the most frequent presenting complaints were pain during bowel movement, nausea, and epigastric pain. Functional abdominal pain, IBS, and functional dyspepsia were the most frequent types of FGIDs

Keywords

• bowel movement
• epigastric pain
• gastrointestinal disorders
• irritable bowel syndrome