A prevalence study of functional gastrointestinal disorders among the school-going adolescent population in an urban city in northern India

Background

Functional Gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are highly prevalent in the adolescent population leading to morbidity. However, their exact prevalence is not clearly known. The present study attempts to assess their prevalence in adolescent children.

Material & methods

A total of 757 school/college-going adolescents aged 10–19 years attending four different schools covered in a field study were assessed for the prevalence of FGIDs using a questionnaire based on ROME-IV criteria. Socio-demographic data of the participants were also noted. Prevalence and type of FGIDs were determined. The chi-square test and Independent samples ‘t’-test were used to compare the data.

Results

The prevalence of FGIDs was 15.85 % (n = 120) in the adolescent population in our study. Functional abdominal pain disorders (n = 65; 54.2 %) were the most common type followed by functional defecation disorders (n = 49; 40.8 %) and functional nausea and vomiting disorders (n = 6; 5 %) respectively. Adolescents with FGIDs had significantly lower mean age (12.98 ± 2.30 years) and mean BMI (16.9 ± 3.2 kg/m²) as compared to those without FGIDs (p < 0.001). However, no significant association of sex was seen with FGID prevalence (p = 0.755).

Conclusions

FGIDs were found to be prevalent in school/college-going adolescents in our setting with functional abdominal pain disorders contributing to the majority of FGIDs. The Rome-IV criteria-based questionnaire is a useful tool in diagnosing FGIDs among adolescents.