A study published in Gut reports that 28% of children across four countries meet criteria for pediatric disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI), according to DocWireNews. The research was led by Samuel Nurko, MD, MPH, of Boston Children's Hospital, and used the Rome V survey to estimate how common these conditions are and how much burden they place on young patients and their families. DocWireNews reports that the findings point to a need for better research and clinical care in this area.
The authors noted that how often DGBI occur in children is "largely unknown" and that published work on the topic has been limited by inconsistent methods, DocWireNews reports.
Why it matters
Disorders of gut-brain interaction describe gastrointestinal symptoms that arise from how the gut and brain communicate rather than from structural disease. In children, these conditions can affect eating, school attendance and daily functioning, and they often involve repeated medical visits. A prevalence figure drawn from a standardized, multi-country survey gives clinicians and researchers a common baseline, which the authors say has been missing because earlier studies used differing designs and definitions.
How the survey was built
According to DocWireNews, the research team used the Rome V survey to examine several dimensions of pediatric DGBI, including gastrointestinal symptoms, illness burden and other coexisting conditions. Caregivers of 8,000 children completed an online version of the questionnaire. The children ranged in age from 0 to 17 years and lived in Italy, the United States, China or Mexico. The investigators calculated prevalence by DGBI category, country, sex and age.
What the numbers show
The overall prevalence came in at 28%. When split by region of the digestive tract, 8.7% of caregivers reported upper DGBI and 23.7% reported lower DGBI, per DocWireNews.
Among lower DGBI, the most frequently reported categories were defecation and anorectal disorders at 20.2%, abdominal pain disorders at 4.4% and discomfort disorders at 1.8%. Among upper DGBI, gastroduodenal disorders were most common at 6.6%, followed by functional feeding disorders at 3.4% and esophageal disorders at 0.6%.
Prevalence varied by country. Mexico had the highest rate of pediatric DGBI, while China had the lowest, DocWireNews reports. Sex differences also emerged: female pediatric patients were more likely to have gastroduodenal and discomfort disorders.
Age appeared to matter as well. After adjusting for age, the investigators found that overall prevalence fell from 41% in children aged 0 to 3 years to 22% in adolescents.
Burden beyond symptoms
The study also linked pediatric DGBI to several factors beyond gastrointestinal symptoms. DocWireNews reports that significant depression and anxiety, greater use of healthcare services, functional disability, and the time parents spend on care and coordination were all associated with these conditions. That last association was described as particularly notable when upper and lower DGBI occurred together.
The authors concluded that the global Rome V study shows a high multinational prevalence of pediatric DGBI along with substantial burden and variation, and that the results support better recognition, classification, research and clinical care, according to DocWireNews.
Watch for follow-up analyses from the Rome V dataset and for whether these prevalence estimates shape how pediatric DGBI are classified and managed in clinical practice.
