WHY DO CHILDREN HAVE CHRONIC ABDOMINAL-PAIN, AND WHAT HAPPENS TO THEMWHEN THEY GROW UP - POPULATION-BASED COHORT STUDY

Objective: To test the hypotheses that children with abdominal pain ha ve anxious parents and come from families with high rates of physical illness and that they grow up to suffer from high rates of medically u nexplained symptoms and psychiatric disorders. Design: Population base d birth cohort study. Setting: General population. Subjects: Participa nts in the Medical Research Council (MRC) national survey of health an d development, a population based bir th cohort study established in 1 946. Main outcome measures: Abdominal pain present throughout childhoo d in the absence of defined organic disease, and measures of physical symptoms and psychiatric disorder at age 36 years. Results: There were high rates of complaints about physical health among the parents of c hildren with persistent abdominal pain, and the mothers had higher neu roticism scores. Children with persistent abdominal pain were more lik ely to suffer from psychiatric disorders in adulthood (odds ratio 2.72 (95% confidence interval 1.65 to 4.49)) but were not especially prone to physical symptoms once psychiatric disorder was controlled for (od ds ratio 1.39 (0.83 to 2.36)). Conclusions: Persistent abdominal pain is associated with poor health and emotional disorder in the parents. Children with abdominal pain do not necessarily continue to experience physical symptoms into adulthood but are at increased risk of adult p sychiatric disorders.