OBJECTIVETo determine the prevalence of functional gastrointestinal disorders in children in Shanghai.

METHODThis study was conducted on the infants and young children who were below 24 months of age recruited consecutively from April 2008 to June 2008 from the 12 communities in Minhang district in Shanghai. The questionnaire on gastrointestinal symptoms and growth was sent to 5030 children < 24 months old. The age distribution of the 5030 children was: < 6 months: 1922 infants (38.2%), 6 - < 12 months: 1933 (38.4%) infants; 12 - < 18 months: 811 (16.1%) children; 18 - < 24 months: 364 (7.2%) children.

RESULTAmong the 5030 children, 1909 had gastrointestinal disorders (38.0%). There was no significant difference in the rate of the disorders between sexes (P = 0.06). Regurgitation was found in 899 (17.9%) infants/children, constipation in 690 (13.7%), 619 (12.3%) infants/children suffered from diarrhea and only 71 (1.4%) suffered from colic. The incidence of gastrointestinal disorders was significantly different among different age groups. The incidence of constipation and regurgitation decreased and the incidence of diarrhea increased with growth (P < 0.01). Infants growth parameters in the group with gastrointestinal disorders especially in those with regurgitation were lower than those without gastrointestinal disorders, the difference is statistically significant. The hospital visit rate of infants with diarrhea was 62.68%, which was higher than the rate of the other three symptoms (4.45% - 16.90%).

CONCLUSIONGastrointestinal disorders are common in infants and young children in Shanghai and may have a great impact on growth. Early management could relieve the disorders and ensure infants to get normal growth and development.

China ; epidemiology ; Colic ; epidemiology ; Diarrhea ; epidemiology ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; epidemiology ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Male ; Prevalence ; Vomiting ; epidemiology

Objective: Regurgitation, infantile colic, and functional constipation are common gastrointestinal symptoms in childhood, the aim of this study was to explore the prevalence and distribution of these symptoms in China. Methods: A screening program in infants aged 0 to 3 years selected through stratified cluster random sampling was carried out in 7 cities in China. Questionnaires were filled, and then diagnosis were made according to Rome Ⅳ criteria. Areas, (urban-rural), age and gender distribution of prevalence of childhood common gastrointestinal symptoms were analyzed. Results: Totally, 20 932 effective questionnaires were returned. The total number of infants aged 0 to 1 years was 10 193. Regurgitation was diagnosed in 1 960 infants, with the prevalence of 19.2%, among infants aged 0 to 3 months that had highest prevalence (29.8%). The prevalence decreased with age, and differences among different age groups showed significant. For infantile colic, 4 470 infants aged 0 to 5 months were analyzed and the prevalence of infantile colic was 7.3%. The prevalence of infantile colic was the highest in infants aged 1 to 2 months (10.0%). Age specific difference was significant. Of all the infants, functional constipation was diagnosed in 1 755 infants with the prevalence of 8.4%, and the lowest prevalence was found in infants aged 0 to 3 months (6.2%), and the highest prevalence was in infants aged 30 to 36 months (10.0%). The differences in different age group were significant. Conclusion: Symptoms of regurgitation, infantile colic, and functional constipation are common in infants in China, with age specific difference in prevalence of the symptoms.
Age Distribution ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China/epidemiology* ; Cities ; Colic/epidemiology* ; Constipation/epidemiology* ; Gastrointestinal Diseases/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Population Surveillance ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires