Recurrent Abdominal Pain Syndrome in a Cohort of Sri Lankan Children and Adolescents

Recurrent Abdominal Pain Syndrome in a Cohort of Sri Lankan Children and Adolescents

Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) is a common problem among children and adolescents. The epidemiology of RAP among Sri Lankan children is unknown. A self-administered parental questionnaire was distributed to 810 randomly selected school children, aged 5–15 years, and 734 (90.6%) were returned. RAP wa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of tropical pediatrics (1980) Vol. 54; no. 3; pp. 178 - 183
Main Authors: Devanarayana, Niranga Manjuri, de Silva, Delpechitracharige Gajabahu Harendra, de Silva, Hithanadura Janaka
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01-06-2008
Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
Subjects:
Abdominal Pain - classification
Abdominal Pain - epidemiology
Abdominal Pain - etiology
Adolescent
adolescents
Age Distribution
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child, Preschool
children
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
General aspects
Humans
Logistic Models
Male
Medical sciences
Prevalence
Recurrence
recurrent abdominal pain
Severity of Illness Index
Sex Distribution
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka - epidemiology
Stress, Psychological
Surveys and Questionnaires
Asia
Sri Lanka
recurrent abdominal pain
Sri Lanka
children
adolescents
Human
Pediatrics
Relapse
Pain
Cohort study
Adolescent
Tropical medicine
Recurrent
Child
Public health
Syndrome
Abdomen
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Summary:Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) is a common problem among children and adolescents. The epidemiology of RAP among Sri Lankan children is unknown. A self-administered parental questionnaire was distributed to 810 randomly selected school children, aged 5–15 years, and 734 (90.6%) were returned. RAP was diagnosed using Apley criteria. Children who fulfilled the criteria were interviewed. Seventy-seven had RAP (10.5%). Of them, 45 (58.4%) had periumbilical pain. The severity was mild to moderate in 45 (58.4%) and severe in 32 (41.6%). Common associated symptoms were headache (42.9%), anorexia (35.1%), lethargy (23.4%) and joint pain (23.4%). Health care consultation among affected children was 70.1%. RAP was significantly higher in those who were exposed to stressful life events and who had a family history of RAP (p < 0.0001). RAP was not associated with school academic performance and participation in sports (p > 0.05). According to our results, the epidemiology and clinical profile of RAP in Sri Lankan children appears to be similar to that in other parts of the world, except for health care consultation, which is higher than previously reported.
Bibliography:istex:BC9223E2540BFAD95DE99E05345C6B7E696DD6F3
ArticleID:fmm114
ark:/67375/HXZ-FPWJF77F-J
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0142-6338
1465-3664
DOI:10.1093/tropej/fmm114