Elsevier

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 195, April 2018, Pages 134-139
The Journal of Pediatrics

Original Articles
Prevalence of Pediatric Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Utilizing the Rome IV Criteria

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.12.012Get rights and content

Objective

To assess the prevalence of functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders in children 0-18 years old according to the newly established Rome IV diagnostic criteria as reported by parents in a representative community sample.

Study design

A cross-sectional study in which mothers (n = 1255) of children aged 0-18 years old in the US were recruited to complete an online survey about their child's GI symptoms, quality of life (QoL), and other health conditions.

Results

Based on the Rome IV criteria, 24.7% of infants and toddlers aged 0-3 years and 25.0% of children and adolescents aged 4-18 years fulfilled symptom-based criteria for a functional GI disorder. The most common functional GI disorders were infant regurgitation among infants (24.1%) and functional constipation among both toddlers (18.5%) and children and adolescents (14.1%). QoL was diminished in pediatric patients with functional GI disorders (median = 71.69 vs median = 87.60; z = −11.41; P  < .001). Children were more likely to qualify for a functional GI disorder if their parent qualified for a functional GI disorder (35.4% vs 23.0%; P < .001).

Conclusions

Based on Rome IV criteria, functional GI disorders are common in pediatric populations of all ages and are associated with decreased QoL.

Section snippets

Methods

Mothers of children ages 0-18 years old were recruited through online survey panels by CINT USA, Inc (Atlanta, GA; www.cint.com). CINT has 19 million registered panel members worldwide, consisting of individuals who have joined to answer a variety of surveys. CINT targeted recruitment among their panel members to mothers living in the US with predetermined quota-based sampling to ensure adequate representation of sex, race, and age groups. Mothers rather than fathers were recruited to complete

Results

A total of 1515 mothers completed the questionnaire, 368 of whom provided information about children 0-3 years old and 1147 for children 4-18 years old. Data was excluded from respondents who had children with a history of celiac disease (n = 14), IBD (n = 7), or cancer (n = 2), and mothers with a history of celiac disease (n = 17), IBD (n = 17), or cancer (n = 22), or who lived with their children less than one-half of the time (n = 3). Respondents were also excluded for inconsistent answers

Discussion

This study has established the prevalence of pediatric functional GI disorders according to the new Rome IV criteria. Prevalence was investigated in a racially diverse sample and included mothers and their children from all 50 states in the US and across a wide range of household incomes. The prevalence rates of pediatric functional GI disorders according to Rome IV criteria in this study can be compared with Rome III prevalence rates reported in 2 previous studies with nearly identical methods.

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    Sponsored by the Rome Foundation. P.H., S.N., M.S., C.D.L., R.S., J.H., O.P., and M.v.T. are part of the Rome IV Committee. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

    Portions of this study were presented at the World Congress of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, October 5-8, 2016, Montreal, Quebec and at Digestive Disease Week, May 6-9, 2017, Chicago, Illinois.

    *

    Contributed equally.

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