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Abdominal pain in an HMO
A M Adelman1, D A Revicki, J Magaziner
1Department of Family and Community Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, Milton Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, USA.
Background:
Previous surveys have found that 14%-25% of the population report abdominal pain. Only one study examined the age-gender specific prevalence of abdominal pain in the population, and no study has examined the self-reported causes of abdominal pain.
Methods:
To describe the epidemiology of abdominal pain in a large health maintenance organization population, 6,199 randomly selected members were contacted and interviewed by telephone about the occurrence of abdominal pain and related health care in the past year.
Results:
Of those interviewed, 27% reported abdominal pain in the past year, while 38% of those individuals saw a physician for their pain. Women were more likely than men to have had pain and to have seen a physician for their pain. Fewer older individuals reported abdominal pain, but when pain occurred, they sought medical care more often than younger individuals.
Conclusions:
Women and younger individuals report abdominal pain more frequently. Women and older individuals are more likely to seek care for their pain.