Why do children have chronic abdominal pain, and what happens to them when they grow up? Population based cohort

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Published on: August 13, 2015

M Hotopf1, S Carr, R Mayou

  • 1Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry and Institute of Psychiatry, London SE5 8AZ, UK. m.hotopf@iop.bpmf.ac.uk

BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.)
|May 16, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Children with persistent abdominal pain often have parents with health issues. These children face a higher risk of adult psychiatric disorders, but not necessarily ongoing physical symptoms.

Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Persistent childhood abdominal pain is a common concern.
  • Parental health and family history may influence childhood conditions.
  • The long-term outcomes of childhood abdominal pain require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between childhood abdominal pain and parental health.
  • To determine if childhood abdominal pain predicts adult medically unexplained symptoms and psychiatric disorders.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a population-based birth cohort study design.
  • Included participants from the Medical Research Council (MRC) national survey of health and development.
  • Assessed childhood abdominal pain, parental health, and adult physical symptoms and psychiatric disorders at age 36.

Main Results:

  • Children with persistent abdominal pain had parents with higher rates of physical health complaints and maternal neuroticism.
  • These children showed a significantly increased likelihood of adult psychiatric disorders (OR 2.72).
  • No significant association was found for adult physical symptoms when psychiatric disorder was controlled (OR 1.39).

Conclusions:

  • Childhood persistent abdominal pain is linked to parental ill-health and emotional distress.
  • While not leading to persistent physical symptoms in adulthood, it increases the risk for psychiatric disorders.
  • This highlights the importance of considering family health and mental well-being in managing childhood abdominal pain.
Abstract

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