Environmental Factors of Abdominal Pain

Functional abdominal pain includes a group of clinical conditions characterized by chronic or recurrent abdominal pain that occurs in the absence of recognizable physiologic, infectious, structural, or biochemical abnormalities. The term functional abdominal pain (FAP) now replaces the old term of “recurrent abdominal pain,” a vague term. According to the most recent Rome criteria III classification of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), functional abdominal pain conditions encompass four different well defined clinical entities: functional dyspepsia (FD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), childhood FAP, and abdominal migraine (see Table).¹,² The etiology of FAP in children is complex and incompletely understood. The most accepted pathophysiologic framework proposes that they result from the interaction of biological, psychosocial, and environmental factors in a predisposed individual. This article focuses on the role of many components of the child’s environmental setting that influence the development of functional abdominal pain. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Ashish Chogle, MD, MPH, and Miguel Saps, MD, are with Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago. Dr. Saps and Dr. Chogle have disclosed no relevant financial relationships. doi: 10.3928/00904481-20090622-10