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Published on: July 5, 2024
Early-Life Gut Health Indicators and Reported Prevalence of Infant Functional Constipation by Healthcare
Leilani Muhardi1, Dianne J M Delsing2, Irina Zakharova3
1FrieslandCampina AMEA, Singapore 039190, Singapore.
Insights
Healthcare professionals prefer absence of gastrointestinal symptoms, normal growth, and well-being as key gut health indicators for infants and toddlers. Functional constipation affects less than 5% of infants.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Gastroenterology
- Child Health
Background:
- Assessing gut health in early childhood lacks standardized indicators.
- Infant functional constipation (FC) prevalence and management vary globally.
- Understanding healthcare professionals' perspectives is crucial for developing guidelines.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify preferred gut health indicators (GHIs) for infants and toddlers among healthcare professionals (HCPs).
- To estimate the prevalence of infant functional constipation (FC).
- To document current FC management strategies in infants.
Main Methods:
- An electronic survey was distributed to 2199 HCPs across eight countries.
- Participants included pediatricians, pediatric gastroenterologists, and general practitioners.
- The survey queried preferred GHIs, FC prevalence, and management approaches.
Main Results:
- Top GHIs for infants and toddlers were: absence of gastrointestinal symptoms, normal growth indicating effective digestion/absorption, and general well-being.
- Less than 5% of infants were reported to have FC, peaking between 3-6 months.
- FC management included nutritional solutions (40.2%), parental reassurance (31.7%), and lactulose (17.0%).
Conclusions:
- HCPs prioritize symptom absence, normal growth, and well-being for assessing infant and toddler gut health.
- Functional constipation prevalence in infants appears low (<5%).
- Current FC management strategies are diverse, with nutritional changes being most common.
Abstract:
A healthy gut during early childhood is important. However, it seems that there are no standard indicators used to assess it. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) were asked via an electronic survey question about gut health indicators (GHIs) for infants and toddlers, in addition to an estimated prevalence of infant's functional constipation (FC) and its management. HCPs from eight countries participated in the survey (Russia (66.0%, 1449), Indonesia (11.0%, 242), Malaysia (6.0%, 132), Mexico (5.7%, 125), KSA (5.1%, 113), Turkey (3.0%, 66), Hong Kong (2.2%, 49), and Singapore (1.0%, 23)). The 2199 participating respondents were further classified into three continents (Asia (20.2%), Europe (68.8%), and others (11.0%)). Most of them were pediatricians (80.3%), followed by pediatric gastroenterologists (7.0%), general practitioners (6.4%), and others (6.3%). The top three preferred GHIs were similar for infants and toddlers: an absence of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, effective digestion/absorption as assessed by normal growth, and a general feeling of well-being. The absence of GI-related infection was the least preferred indicator. Most of the respondents reported the prevalence of FC among infants was less than 5%, with the peak incidence between the ages of 3 and 6 months. The reported choices of intervention to manage FC in infants were a change to a specific nutritional solution from a standard formula (40.2%), parental reassurance (31.7%), and lactulose (17.0%). Conclusion: The HCPs in the eight countries preferred the absence of GI symptoms, normal growth for effective digestion and absorption, and general well-being as the gut health indicators in infants and toddlers. The reported prevalence of FC in infants was less than 5%.
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