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. 2022 Nov;25(6):500-509.
doi: 10.5223/pghn.2022.25.6.500. Epub 2022 Nov 2.

Impaired Health-Related Quality of Life in Brazilian Children with Chronic Abdominal Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study

Carine Dias Ferreira de Jesus  1 , Mary de Assis Carvalho  2 , Nilton Carlos Machado  2
Affiliations

Impaired Health-Related Quality of Life in Brazilian Children with Chronic Abdominal Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study

Carine Dias Ferreira de Jesus et al. Pediatr Gastroenterol Hepatol Nutr. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Purpose: We compared the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children and adolescents with functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) and organic abdominal pain disorders (ORGDs).

Methods: This was a single-center, cross-sectional, observational study. The PedsQL 4.0 generic cores scales parent proxy-report was administered to parents/caregivers of 130 and 56 pediatric patients with FAPDs and ORGDs respectively on their first visit. The self-reported pain intensity in the patients was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) and facial affective scale (FAS).

Results: Irritable bowel syndrome was the most prevalent FAPDs, and the most prevalent ORGDs were reflux esophagitis (41.1%) and gastritis associated with Helicobacter pylori (21.4%). There was no difference in HRQOL among patients diagnosed with ORGDs and FAPDs (p>0.05). Patients with ORGDs and FAPDs had lower HRQOL Scale scores than healthy Brazilian and American children's references, with a high proportion of children at risk for impaired HRQOL (p<0.0001). There was no difference in the VAS and the FAS scores between the ORGDs and the FAPDs. FAPDs had a higher prevalence of girls' and couples' disagreement (p<0.02), although poor school performance (p<0.0007) and bullying (p<0.01) were higher in patients with ORGD.

Conclusion: This study revealed that there was a difference in impaired HRQOL between patients with ORGDs and FAPDs. Thus, considering the high prevalence of chronic abdominal pain in children, a well-founded treatment plan is necessary for a multidisciplinary cognitive-behavioral Pain management program.

Keywords: Abdominal pain; Functional gastrointestinal disorders; Helicobacter pylori; Pain measurement; Quality of life; Reflux esophagitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Flow diagram showing the Participant’s identification, enrollment, and final diagnosis.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Comparison of the total scale score, physical health summary score, and psychosocial health summary score of PedsQL 4.0 generic cores scales parent proxy-report of children with chronic organic and functional abdominal pain with reference to healthy Brazilian and American children.
FAPDs: functional abdominal pain disorders, ORGDs: organic abdominal pain disorders.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Percentage of children at risk for impaired HRQOL according to <1 standard deviation of reference healthy Brazilian and American children.
FAPDs: functional abdominal pain disorders, ORGDs: organic abdominal pain disorders, HRQOL: health-related quality of life.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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