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Psychosocial factors and childhood recurrent abdominal pain
Author(s) -
BOEY CHRISTOPHER CHIONGMENG,
GOH KHEANLEE
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1746.2002.02884.x
Subject(s) - medicine , psychosocial , irritable bowel syndrome , abdominal pain , pathophysiology , hyperalgesia , visceral pain , psychiatry , intensive care medicine , nociception , receptor
Recurrent abdominal pain in children is not a single condition but a description of a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, some of which fit into a definite pattern, such as the irritable bowel syndrome, while others do not. Organic disorders may be present, but in the majority of children they cannot be detected. Although children with recurrent abdominal pain do not generally have psychological or psychiatric illness, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that psychosocial stress plays an important role in this condition. This review will look into some of this evidence. The precise pathophysiology that results in abdominal pain is still not clearly understood, but the current belief is that visceral hypersensitivity or hyperalgesia and changes in the brain–gut axis linking the central and enteric nervous systems are important mechanisms. © 2002 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd