title: Somatic complaints in childhood functional abdominal pain are associated with functional gastrointestinal disorders in adolescence and adulthood.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nongastrointestinal (non-GI) somatic complaints are common in children and adults with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). The aim of the present study was to determine whether non-GI somatic complaints in children with functional abdominal pain (FAP) were associated with FGIDs in adolescence and young adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a prospective clinic-based study, children and adolescents (ages 8-16 years) with FAP (n = 188) and well controls (n = 61) completed a validated measure of somatic symptoms. Participants were assessed 4 to 15 years later (as older adolescents and young adults) for presence of current FGIDs as defined by the Rome III criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 188 youths with pediatric FAP, 35.6% met criteria for FGIDs at follow-up. Initial levels of non-GI somatic symptoms were significantly higher in pediatric FAP participants who subsequently met criteria for FGIDs at follow-up compared with controls and pediatric FAP participants who did not meet criteria for FGIDs at follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The association of non-GI somatic symptoms with FAP in children may identify a group that is at risk for FGIDs later in life.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the Monroe Carell Jr Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Dengler-Crish
authors.forename: Sara N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Horst
authors.forename: Lynn S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult