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Commentary on: Vila M, Kramer T, Obiols JE, et al. Abdominal pain in British young people: associations, impairment and health care use. J Psychosom Res 2012;73:437–42.
Implications for practice and research
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Abdominal pain is common in children, and frequently associated with anxiety, depression, school absenteeism and physical complaints such as headache and limb pain.
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Assessment and treatment of children with abdominal pain should be underpinned by a biopsychosocial approach.
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Functional abdominal pain research should use standardised research tools and definitions such as the Rome III criteria.
Context
Between 20% and 40% of school children have weekly abdominal pain accounting for 2–4% of childhood medical consultations in the USA.1 ,2 Most abdominal pain is functional; no anatomical, biochemical or structural abnormalities are found. The health system burden and impairment of affected children remains poorly understood. Studies cannot be accurately extrapolated across countries, cultures and …
Footnotes
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Competing interests None.