Infantile colic, regurgitation and constipation: an early traumatic insult in the development of functional gastrointestinal disorders in children?

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are defined as a variable combination of chronic or recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms not explained by structural or biochemical abnormalities. Infantile colic, gastroesophageal reflux, and constipation are the most common FGIDs that lead to referral to a pediatrician during the first 6 months of life and are often responsible for hospitalization, feeding changes, use of drugs, parental anxiety, and loss of parental working days with relevant social consequences. We performed a retrospective study on patients referred for recurrent abdominal pain from January 2002 trough December 2009 to our Pediatric Gastroenterology Outpatient Unit. The population studied was matched with healthy control without history of recurrent abdominal pain, enrolled among pediatricians practicing primary health care. History of infantile colic, regurgitation, and functional constipation was detected respectively in 26.41, 25.31, and 30.16 % of children diagnosed with FGIDs compared to 11.34, 12.85, and 11.76 % of healthy children. Conclusion: According to our data, children with a history of gastrointestinal infantile distress have a higher prevalence of FGIDs years later.