Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Sep 24;9(9):e108039.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108039. eCollection 2014.

The association between GP consultations for non-specific physical symptoms in children and parents: a case-control study

Mujahed Shraim  1 , Milisa Blagojevic-Bucknall  2 , Christian D Mallen  2 , Kate M Dunn  2
Affiliations

The association between GP consultations for non-specific physical symptoms in children and parents: a case-control study

Mujahed Shraim et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Non-specific physical symptoms (NSPS) such as abdominal pain, headache and musculoskeletal pain are widespread in the community, and are common reasons for visiting a general practitioner (GP). Causes of NSPS are multifactorial, but may include parental influences.

Objective: To investigate associations between GP consultations for NSPS in parents and their children.

Methods: Matched case-control study using GP consultation data from 12 GP practices in the United Kingdom. Participants were 1328 children who consulted a GP for NSPS in 2009 (cases), 3980 controls who consulted a GP in 2009 but not for NSPS, plus parents of cases and controls (n = 8354).

Primary outcome measure: child consultation status for NSPS.

Results: Maternal consultation for NSPS was associated with significantly increased odds of their child consulting for NSPS (odds ratio (OR) 1.51, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.33, 1.73); there was no significant association with paternal consultations (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.71, 1.08). Each additional maternal consultation for NSPS was associated with an increase in the rate ratio for number of consultations for NSPS in the child by 1.03 (95% CI 1.01, 1.05). This overall association was clearest in maternal-child consultations for painful NSPS and for specific bodily systems including gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal and neurologic symptoms.

Conclusions: Maternal GP consultation for NSPS is associated with increased odds of GP consultations for NSPS in children. This study included a large sample of children and parents and used medical records data which is not subject to recall bias. However, analysis was based on medical records, thus the presence of NSPS not leading to consultations is unknown. Medical practitioners managing children with NSPS need to be aware of this association.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

References

    1. Eminson M, Benjamin S, Shortall A, Woods T, Faragher B (1996) Physical symptoms and illness attitudes in adolescents: An epidemiological study. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 37: 519–528. - PubMed
    1. Perquin CW, Hazebroek-Kampschreur AA, Hunfeld JA, Bohnen AM, van Suijlekom-Smit LW, et al. (2000) Pain in children and adolescents: A common experience. Pain 87: 51–58. - PubMed
    1. Cardol M, van den Bosch WJ, Spreeuwenberg P, Groenewegen PP, van Dijk L, et al. (2006) All in the family: Headaches and abdominal pain as indicators for consultation patterns in families. Ann Fam Med 4: 506–511. - PMC - PubMed
    1. van Eekelen FC, Perquin CW, Hunfeld JA, Hazebroek-Kampschreur AA, van Suijlekom-Smit LW, et al. (2002) Comparison between children and adolescents with and without chronic benign pain: Consultation rate and pain characteristics. Br J Gen Pract 52: 211–213. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Roth-Isigkeit A, Thyen U, Raspe HH, Stoven H, Schmucker P (2004) Reports of pain among German children and adolescents: An epidemiological study. Acta Paediatr 93: 258–263. - PubMed

Publication types