Premium
Effect of a follow‐up formula containing prebiotics on constipation in young children (LB348)
Author(s) -
Ribiero Tereza,
Scalabrin Deolinda,
Pontes Mariana,
Mattos Angela,
Harris Cheryl,
Stolz Suzanne,
Strong Paul,
Almeida Indhira,
Godoy Carolina,
Gatto Sara,
Leal Vivian,
Cabral G.,
Ribeiro Hugo
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.lb348
Subject(s) - medicine , constipation , defecation , randomized controlled trial , infant formula , pediatrics , prebiotic , micronutrient , gastroenterology , bloating , diarrhea , food science , chemistry , pathology
Objectives: Constipation affects up to 30% of children. Insufficient fiber intake is associated with functional constipation and changes in dietary composition, such as the addition of prebiotics, may improve stool pattern. There are few studies suggesting some effect of dietary management in childhood constipation. We obtained information on the incidence of constipation as part of a recently completed randomized trial designed to assess the effect of a follow‐up formula with prebiotics on the occurrence of acute respiratory infections and diarrheal disease in children from two daycare centers in Brazil. Methods: In this double‐blind, randomized, controlled trial, healthy 1‐4 year old children were fed 3 servings/day of a cow’s milk‐based follow‐up formula fortified with micronutrients, docosahexaenoic acid, yeast beta‐glucan, and the prebiotics polydextrose (PDX) and galactooligosaccharides (GOS) (FF; n=125) or an unfortified cow's milk‐based beverage (C; n=131) for 28 weeks. A child was considered constipated if at least 2 of the 3 following symptoms were present for at least 2 uninterrupted weeks: presence of hard stools, difficulty or pain to defecate, and an interval of more than 72 hours without defecation. The children who met these criteria were categorized by age at study entry (12‐24 months or 25‐48 months) and compared using the Fisher’s exact test. Results: Twenty four of the 158 children in the 25‐48 month age category (15%) met the criteria for constipation. Fewer children in this age category remained constipated at the end of the study in the FF group compared to the control group (Table). The difference was not statistically significant (p=0.27), most likely due to the small number of participants in each formula group who met the criteria for constipation. In the 12‐24 month age category, 8 of 98 children (8%) met the criteria for constipation. However, all were in the control group, and 5 of the 8 (63%) remained constipated at the end of the study. Conclusion: These results suggest that dietary modification such as addition of the prebiotic fibers PDX and GOS may alleviate functional constipation in children.