Allergy‐related diseases and recurrent abdominal pain during childhood – a birth cohort study

Abstract

SUMMARY BackgroundAllergy and immune dysregulation may have a role in the pathophysiology of recurrent abdominal pain of functional origin, but previous studies of allergy-related diseases and abdominal pain have contradictory results.

IgE antibodies in relation to prevalence and multimorbidity of eczema, asthma, and rhinitis from birth to adolescence

“…Also a recent publication based on our material found an increased risk of abdominal pain at 12 years in children sensitized to food allergens at 4 or 8 years. A stratified analysis showed that this was confined to children whose parents did not report symptoms of food hypersensitivity of the child at time of sensitization . Thus, it is possible that sensitized children without classical allergy‐related diseases experience other insidious symptom that remains to be explored.…”

Combining Rome III criteria with alarm symptoms provides high specificity but low sensitivity for functional gastrointestinal disorders in children

“…These patients often undergo a large number of investigations and test treatments with minimal or no yield . The aetiology of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) is multifactorial . Paediatric diagnostic criteria for FGIDs have been developed so that studies can be compared, but, ideally, they should also be used to clinically establish a positive diagnosis of FGID, rather than relying on a diagnosis of exclusion.…”

Irritable bowel syndrome and functional abdominal pain in five‐year‐old children are related to lifestyle

“…They are relapsing, sometimes chronic, disorders that are common worldwide in both adults and children . Several differences have emerged when comparing subjects with abdominal pain to healthy controls, indicating a multifactorial aetiology comprising genetic factors, stress, diet, a changed microbiota, low‐grade inflammation and socio‐economic status . Many children with this type of abdominal pain develop severe symptoms, are often absent from school and report decreased quality of life .…”