title: Paediatric functional abdominal pain: significance of child and maternal health. A prospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  First, to what extent do general paediatric outpatients with functional abdominal pain experience other somatic and mental health symptoms compared with children in a population-based sample? Second, to what extent are such symptoms in both patients and their mothers associated with persistent child abdominal pain and functional disability?
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-four referred patients [mean age (SD) 11.1 (1.9) years, 62% girls] were assessed by questionnaires and a paediatric consultation at baseline and at follow-up after 6-9 months (94% follow-up participation). At baseline, somatic and mental health symptoms in the patients were compared with a population-based sample of 14,000 school children. Outcome at follow-up was patient self-reported abdominal pain and disability. Prognostic factors explored included patient and maternal somatic and mental health symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients experienced significantly more somatic [e.g. headache (OR: 9.2; 95% CI: 5.9-14.6)] and emotional symptoms than the school children. Patient's older age and peer problems at baseline were significantly associated with more abdominal pain at follow-up, whereas patient's older age, emotional symptoms, prosocial behaviour and maternal somatic symptoms were associated with disability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results highlight the importance of focusing wider than just the patient's symptoms of abdominal pain in clinical practice and research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Gjovik, Norway. helene.helgeland@g.mail.com
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Helgeland
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Van Roy
authors.forename: Leiv
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sandvik
authors.forename: Trond
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Markestad
authors.forename: Hanne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kristensen
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009664:Norway; D010808:Physical Examination; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric