Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are prevalent among teenagers, yet understanding of them is limited. This study aimed to evaluate adolescents’ awareness of FGIDs, identify factors influencing this awareness, and assess adolescents’ health education needs, thereby providing evidence for targeted health education strategies. A nationwide cross-sectional survey conducted from June to August 2024 assessed 1,612 adolescents aged 10–19 years. Despite the survey's broad scope, only 4.7% exhibited a systematic understanding of FGIDs, and merely 3.7% reported high familiarity, underscoring a pronounced knowledge deficit in this population. The majority of respondents (39.8%) were only familiar with it, while 25% had not heard of it. Marked disparities in awareness were identified based on growth environment, level of education, boarding status, caregiver type, personality traits, participation in social activities, and the experience of FGIDs by respondents or their contacts ( P 0.05). The results demonstrate that teenagers typically possess limited awareness of FGIDs. It is advisable to formulate tailored health education tactics based on age, educational attainment, and living conditions to enhance knowledge dissemination, deepen comprehension, and elevate adolescents’ disease awareness and self-management skills.
Shen et al. (Mon,) studied this question.