Abdominal pain and irritable bowel syndrome in adolescents: A community-based study☆,☆☆,★
Section snippets
Subjects
Study subjects were recruited from the seventh grade (middle school) and tenth grade (high school) in a midsized town (population 60,000) in suburban Connecticut. Each student was asked to complete three questionnaires during the course of a health education class. A nurse research assistant explained the concept of the study and was available to answer any questions posed by the students. The purpose of the study had been previously explained to the students and their parents. All students had
Study subjects
More than 97% of the students present in school on the days the study was conducted completed the questionnaires (n = 507). Demographic characteristics of the study population are shown in Table I. The mean age of the middle school students was 12.6 years and that of the high school students 15.6 years. White students represented 74% of the study sample. Approximately 80% of the study subjects lived in two-parent households.
Abdominal pain
Data concerning abdominal pain are shown in Table II. Abdominal pain
DISCUSSION
Our study is unique in that it has characterized the nature and prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety, and depression in a community-based population of adolescents. We have determined that recurrent abdominal pain is a common problem for middle school and high school students, occurring weekly in 13% to 17% of this population and being severe enough to affect activity in approximately 21%.
An association between the onset of abdominal pain and looser or more frequent stools was noted
Acknowledgements
We thank the following individuals whose help was invaluable in the completion of this study: G. Amato, B. Davis, S. Curnias, M. Lefevre, D. Walkwitz, P. Moffo, E. Bessette, P. Berkel, N. Etienne, and M. Shoup.
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From the Departments of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Psychology, Hartford Hospital, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, and University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Hartford, Connecticut
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Reprint requests: Jeffrey S. Hyams, MD, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, 282 Washington St., Hartford, CT 06106.
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0022-3476/96/$5.00 + 0 9/21/73642