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OBJECTIVES: Youth with functional abdominal pain (FAP) experience significant pain-related distress and functional impairment. Although quantitative sensory testing protocols have identified alterations in pain modulatory systems that distinguish youth with FAP from healthy controls, the extent to which evoked pain responses predict subsequent trajectories of pain symptoms and disability over and above established psychosocial risk factors is unclear. METHODS: The present study included 183 adolescents with FAP who were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial comparing an 8-week, internet-delivered program of cognitive behavior therapy (n = 90) or pain education (n = 93). Participants completed a quantitative sensory testing protocol prior to the intervention and were followed for 12-months post-treatment. RESULTS: Whereas adolescents with FAP who exhibited stronger baseline conditioned pain modulation reported decreases in pain-related interference over follow-up (b=−.858, SE=.396, p=.032), those with weaker conditioned pain modulation exhibited high, relatively stable levels of pain-related interference over time (b=−.642, SE=.400, p=.110). Conditioned pain modulation status predicted changes in pain-related interference after controlling for the effects of treatment condition and psychosocial risk factors. Static measures of pain sensitivity (i.e., pain threshold, pain tolerance) and temporal summation of second pain were not associated with changes in measures of abdominal pain, gastrointestinal symptom severity, or pain-related interference over follow-up. DISCUSSION: The present findings contribute to a growing literature on the predictive utility of quantitative sensory testing indices and suggest that conditioned pain modulation may complement existing psychosocial risk measures in determining individualized pain-related risk profiles. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02327377

BACKGROUND: Nausea is a common complaint among children, and is particularly prevalent in children with functional abdominal pain (FAP), with nearly half of children with FAP also endorsing nausea. Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which can be indexed by heart rate variability (HRV), leads to abnormalities in gastric electrical activity that are associated with GI symptoms. AIMS: To evaluate that relationship between nausea severity and HRV in adolescents and young adults with a history of FAP and to assess for sex differences. METHODS: Participants were pediatric patients with a diagnosis of FAP who were recruited from a pediatric GI clinic between 1993 and 2007 for a prospective study of the course of FAP. Study analyses focused on the cross-sectional relationship between HRV, indexed by standard deviation of the R-R interval (SDRRI) and high frequency (HF) power, and nausea severity collected during a follow-up visit in late adolescence and young adulthood. RESULTS: Controlling for age and BMI, a significant nausea by sex interaction emerged for both SDRRI and HF power. Tests of conditional effects of nausea by sex showed that the inverse relation between nausea severity and both SDRRI and HF was significant for females but not for males. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to evaluate the relationship between nausea severity and HRV. Greater nausea severity was associated with lower HRV in females but not in males. Further validation of these results may provide insight into novel treatment approaches for females with nausea that target vagal tone.

Objective The aim of this study was to implement clinical hypnosis (CH) as an adjunctive therapy for adolescents with Crohn's disease (CD) and to assess the impact of CH on quality of life (QoL), abdominal pain, psychosocial measures, and disease activity compared with standard care. Methods Forty adolescents with CD were randomized to a hypnosis intervention (HI) or waitlist control (WC) group. The intervention consisted of 1 in-person CH session, self-hypnosis education, and recordings for home practice. Data was collected at baseline, after the 8-week intervention, and at week 16. The primary outcome was patient- and parent-reported QoL; secondary outcomes were patient-reported abdominal pain, depression, anxiety, and sleep; school absences; and disease activity by Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index. Paired and independent t-tests were used to compare differences from baseline to postintervention within and between groups. Results Forty patients (50% girls, mean 15.8 years) were enrolled from February to May 2019. Seventy-eight percent had inactive disease, and 55% had abdominal pain. Post intervention, significant improvements were noted in HI parent-reported QoL compared with WC in total score (P = 0.05), social functioning (P = 0.01), and school functioning (P = 0.04) but patient-reported QoL was unchanged. Abdominal pain severity significantly improved in HI compared with WC (P = 0.03). School absences decreased in significantly more intervention than control patients (P = 0.01). Patients who practiced self-hypnosis consistently showed a trend toward greater QoL improvement than those who did not (P = 0.1). Conclusions CH is an acceptable and feasible adjunct in CD and may improve psychosocial QoL and abdominal pain. Further research is warranted.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbances have been commonly reported as comorbid in youth with pain conditions, but prior research specific to functional abdominal pain (FAP) is limited. This study describes individual factors associated with increased risk for sleep disturbance and characterizes the relationship between sleep disturbance and pain-related variables. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included 278 adolescents (age 11 to 17 years, M age = 15 years; 89% Caucasian; 65% female) with FAP. METHODS: Participants reported on sleep disturbances, abdominal pain severity, functional disability, somatic symptoms, and healthcare utilization. RESULTS: Female adolescents reported greater sleep disturbance than male adolescents (t(276) = 5.52, p < .001, Cohen’s d = 0.70) and increased age was associated with greater sleep disturbance (r =.20, p =.001). In hierarchical regressions controlling for age, sex, and abdominal pain, greater sleep disturbance was significantly associated with greater functional disability (β =.32), non-gastrointestinal somatic symptoms (β =.35), and emergency department visits (β =.29). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that sleep disturbance is common and should be assessed in youth presenting with FAP and may be a potential target for intervention.

Inconsistent results of psychological treatments for pediatric functional abdominal pain (FAP) may be due to heterogeneity of patients' pain-related psychological characteristics. This randomized controlled trial tested whether statistically derived patient subgroups (high pain dysfunctional [HPD], high pain adaptive [HPA], and low pain adaptive [LPA]) moderated response to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for adolescents with FAP and their parents (n = 278 dyads; patients were 66% female, mean [SD] age was 14.62 [1.88] years, and parents were 95% female). Randomization to Internet-delivered CBT vs Internet-delivered pain education (EDU) was stratified by patient subgroup. Follow-up assessments of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms (primary outcome), abdominal pain, and pain interference were at midtreatment, posttreatment, 6 months, and 12 months. Data were analysed using linear mixed effects models. Significant treatment × subgroup × time interaction effects showed that patient subgroup significantly moderated the effect of treatment on GI symptoms (t[853 = -2.93, P = 0.003) and abdominal pain (t(844) = -2.14, P = 0.03) across the treatment period. Among HPD youth, those in CBT had significantly greater GI symptom reduction than those in EDU through posttreatment. By contrast, among HPA and LPA youth, symptom improvement did not differ by treatment condition. Furthermore, among all patients assigned to CBT, HPD youth demonstrated significantly greater reductions in GI symptoms compared with HPA and LPA youth and greater reductions in abdominal pain compared with LPA youth. All subgroups maintained symptom reductions throughout the follow-up period. Results suggest that subgrouping FAP patients may inform treatment allocation and optimize treatment response.

Excess pain after visceral provocation has been suggested as a marker for chronic pelvic pain risk in women. However, few noninvasive tests have been validated that could be performed readily on youth in early risk windows. Therefore, we evaluated the validity and reliability of a noninvasive bladder pain test in 124 healthy premenarchal females (median age 11, [interquartile range 11-12]), as previously studied in adult women. We explored whether psychosocial, sensory factors, and quantitative sensory test results were associated with provoked bladder pain and assessed the relation of bladder pain with abdominal pain history. Compared with findings in young adult females (age 21 [20-28]), results were similar except that adolescents had more pain at first sensation to void (P = 0.005) and lower maximum tolerance volume (P < 0.001). Anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms, and pain catastrophizing predicted provoked bladder pain (P's < 0.05). Bladder pain inversely correlated with pressure pain thresholds (r = -0.25, P < 0.05), but not with cold pressor pain or conditioned pain modulation effectiveness. Bladder pain was also associated with frequency of abdominal pain symptoms (r = 0.25, P = 0.039). We found strong retest reliability for bladder pain at standard levels of sensory urgency in 21 adolescents who attended repeat visits at 6 to 12 months (intraclass correlations = 0.88-0.90). Noninvasive bladder pain testing seems reproducible in adolescent females and may predict abdominal pain symptomatology. Confirmation of our findings and further investigation of the bladder test across menarche will help establish how visceral sensitivity contributes to the early trajectory of pelvic pain risk.

Background Chronic nausea in adolescents with functional gastrointestinal disorders is an increasingly reported but poorly understood symptom that negatively affects quality of life. Functional gastrointestinal disorders are known to correlate closely with slow wave rhythm disturbances. The ability to characterize gastric electrophysiologic perturbations in functional nausea patients could provide potential diagnostic and therapeutic tools for nausea patients. Methods We used high-resolution electrogastrograms (HR-EGG) to measure gastric slow wave parameters in pediatric chronic nausea patients and healthy subjects both pre- and postprandial. We computed the dominant frequency, percentage power distribution, gastric slow wave propagation direction, and speed from HR-EGG. Key results We observed significant differences in the dominant frequency and power distributed in normal and bradyarrhythmia frequency ranges when comparing patients and healthy subjects. Propagation patterns in healthy subjects were predominantly anterograde, while patients exhibited a variety of abnormalities including retrograde, anterograde, and disrupted patterns. There was a significant difference in the preprandial mean slow wave direction between healthy subjects (222° ± 22°) and patients (103° ± 66°; p ˂ 0.01), although the postprandial mean direction between healthy subjects and patients was similar (p = 0.73). No significant difference in slow wave propagation speed was found between patients and healthy subjects in either pre- (p = 0.21) or postprandial periods (p = 0.75). Conclusions and inferences The spatiotemporal characterization of gastric slow wave activity using HR-EGG distinguishes symptomatic chronic nausea patients from healthy subjects. This characterization may in turn inform and direct clinical decision-making and lead to further insight into its pathophysiology.

In conjunction with the Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks public-private partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American Pain Society, the Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks-American Pain Society Pain Taxonomy (AAPT) initiative strove to develop the characteristics of a diagnostic system useful for clinical and research purposes across disciplines and types of chronic pain conditions. After the establishment of these characteristics, a working group of clinicians and clinical and basic scientists with expertise in abdominal, pelvic, and urogenital pain began generating core diagnostic criteria and defining the related extraintestinal somatic pain and other symptoms experienced by patients. Systematic diagnostic criteria for several common abdominal, pelvic, and urogenital pain conditions are in development. In this report, we present the proposed AAPT criteria for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the most common chronic, noncancer abdominal pain condition. A systematic review and synthesis was conducted to complement the Rome IV Diagnostic Criteria for IBS. Future efforts will subject these proposed AAPT criteria to systematic empirical evaluation of their feasibility, reliability, and validity. The AAPT IBS criteria are part of an evidence-based classification system that provides a consistent vocabulary regarding diagnostic criteria, common features, comorbidities, consequences, and putative mechanisms of the disorder. A similar approach is being applied to other chronic and often debilitating abdominal, pelvic, and urogenital pain conditions. Perspective The AAPT's goal is to develop an evidence-based taxonomy for chronic pain on the basis of a consistently applied multidimensional framework, and encourage experts to apply this taxonomy to specific chronic pain conditions. In this report, the taxonomy is applied to IBS, a chronic abdominal pain condition.

Nausea is common among children with functional abdominal pain (FAP). We evaluated the relation of nausea to short- and long-term morbidity in pediatric patients with FAP.We performed a prospective study of 871 children with FAP (age, 8-17 y) seen in a pediatric gastroenterology practice; follow-up data were collected from 392 of the patients at 8.7 ± 3.3 years later. Participants were defined as having significant nausea if they reported nausea "a lot" or "a whole lot" within the past 2 weeks. Validated questionnaires assessed abdominal pain, gastrointestinal and somatic symptoms, and depression. Baseline measures, anxiety, and the Rome III criteria were assessed in the follow-up evaluation.At baseline, 44.8% of the patients reported significant nausea. Those with nausea reported worse abdominal pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, somatic symptoms, and depression than those without nausea (P.001 for all). When the children had reached young adulthood, those with nausea in childhood continued to have more severe gastrointestinal (P.001) and somatic symptoms (P = .003) than patients without nausea in childhood, as well as higher levels of anxiety (P = .02) and depression (P = .02). In the follow-up evaluation, somatic symptoms, depression, and anxiety remained significant after controlling for baseline abdominal pain severity.Pediatric patients with FAP and nausea have more severe short- and long-term gastrointestinal and somatic symptoms than patients with FAP without nausea, as well as reductions in mental health and daily function. Pediatric patients with FAP and nausea therefore need intensive treatment and follow-up evaluation.

Previous meta-analyses have shown that psychotherapy improves gastrointestinal symptoms in adults with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); however, the impact on functioning in daily activities is unknown. Meta-analysis was used to estimate the effect of psychotherapy on mental health and daily functioning in adults with IBS. An extensive literature search located 28 eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) providing outcome data for mental health and 18 RCTs providing data for daily functioning. Compared to a mixed group of control conditions, psychotherapy produced significantly greater improvements to mental health (d−=0.41) and daily functioning (d−=0.43). Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) was evaluated in the largest number of trials (21 trials), followed by hypnosis (4 trials), psychodynamic (3 trials), and relaxation (2 trials). The psychotherapeutic modalities were comparable with respect to their effect on mental health. CBT produced the greatest improvements to daily functioning, and this effect was significantly larger than that produced by relaxation therapy. These results have important clinical implications for treatment of adults with IBS.

Pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD) are associated with increased healthcare utilization, school absences, and poor quality of life (QoL). Cost-effective and accessible interventions are needed. This multi-site study tested the effects of a 3-session cognitive-behavioral intervention delivered to parents, in person or remotely, on the primary outcome of pain severity and secondary outcomes (process measures) of parental solicitousness, pain beliefs, catastrophizing, and child-reported coping. Additional outcomes hypothesized a priori and assessed included functional disability, quality of life, pain behavior, school absences, healthcare utilization, and gastrointestinal symptoms. The study was prospective and longitudinal (baseline, 3 and 6 months follow-up) with three randomized conditions: social learning and cognitive-behavioral therapy in-person (SLCBT) or by phone (SLCBT-R) and education/support condition by phone (ES-R). Participants were children aged 7–12 with FAPD and their parents (N = 316 dyads). While no significant treatment effect for pain severity was found, the SLCBT groups showed significantly greater improvements compared to controls on process measures of parental solicitousness, pain beliefs and catastrophizing, and additional outcomes of parent-reported functional disability, pain behaviors, child healthcare visits for abdominal pain, and (remote condition only) quality of life and missed school days. No effects were found for parent and child-reported gastrointestinal symptoms, or child-reported quality of life or coping. These findings suggest that for children with FAPD, a brief phone SLCBT for parents can be similarly effective as in-person SLCBT in changing parent responses and improving outcomes, if not reported pain and symptom report, compared to a control condition.

Functional abdominal pain (FAP) is associated with enhanced pain responsiveness. Although impaired conditioned pain modulation (CPM) characterizes adults with a variety of chronic pain conditions, relatively little is known about CPM in youth with FAP. This study assessed CPM to evoked thermal pain in 140 youth (ages 10-17), 63 of whom had FAP and 77 of whom were healthy controls. Multilevel models demonstrated weaker CPM effects in youth with FAP than in healthy youth, as evident in slower within-person decreases in pain ratings during the conditioning phase. Weaker CPM effects were associated with greater somatic symptom severity and functional disability. Pain responses in youth with FAP were heterogeneous, with 43% of youth showing an unexpected increase in pain ratings during the conditioning phase, suggesting sensitization rather than CPM-related pain inhibition. These findings highlight directions for future research on the emergence and maintenance of FAP in youth.

Our objective was to translate the Functional Disability Inventory (FDI) into German, to evaluate its validity and to assess functional limitation in a large cohort of children and adolescents with juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome (jFMS). We administered several questions (e.g., sociodemographics, school-related issues) and questionnaires to 329 patients and one parent. The questionnaires included, among others, a German version of the FDI, the CHAQ (parent report), KIDSCREEN, tender point score (TPS), Depression Inventory for Children and Adolescents (DIKJ) and others. Patients were asked about the severity of pain today (NRS = numerical rating scale) and other symptoms. Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity of the FDI was evaluated by correlating the FDI with the questionnaires as well as with the pain and other variables, e.g., days missed school. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was also performed. Mean age was 13.9 years (SD ±2.48). Means were for pain today 5.37 (±2.39) and for the TPS 39.71 (±21.56). Internal consistency was α = .90. Low-to-moderate correlations were obtained between the FDI and the CHAQ (ρ = .51**), KIDSCREEN (e.g., physical well-being ρ = -.62**; peers and social support ρ = -.28**) as well as the pain variables (NRS ρ = .24**; TPS ρ = .38**). Psychological variables were also correlated with the FDI (e.g., DIJK ρ = .28**). An EFA suggested a two-factor solution. The FDI is a valid instrument for measuring functional limitations in German children and adolescents with jFMS.

The Rome IV Diagnostic Questionnaires were developed to screen for functional gastrointestinal disorders, serve as inclusion criteria in clinical trials, and support epidemiologic surveys. Separate questionnaires were developed for adults, children and adolescents, and infants and toddlers. For the adult questionnaire, we first surveyed 1162 adults without gastrointestinal disorders, and recommended the 90th percentile symptom frequency as the threshold for defining what is abnormal. Diagnostic questions were formulated and verified with clinical experts using a recursive process. The diagnostic sensitivity of the questionnaire was tested in 843 patients from 9 gastroenterology clinics, with a focus on clinical diagnoses of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional constipation (FC), and functional dyspepsia (FD). Sensitivity was 62.7% for IBS, 54.7% for FD, and 32.2% for FC. Specificity, assessed in a population sample of 5931 adults, was 97.1% for IBS, 93.3% for FD, and 93.6% for FC. Excess overlap among IBS, FC, and FD was a major contributor to reduced diagnostic sensitivity, and when overlap of IBS with FC was permitted, sensitivity for FC diagnosis increased to 73.2%. All questions were understandable to at least 90% of individuals, and Rome IV diagnoses were reproducible in three-fourths of patients after 1 month. Validation of the pediatric questionnaires is ongoing.

The objective of this study was to develop a pediatric measure of chronic nausea severity, the Nausea Severity Scale (NSS), and evaluate its reliability and validity in youth with abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders (AP-FGID). Pediatric patients (aged 11&ndash, 17 years-old, n = 236) presenting to an outpatient clinic for evaluation of abdominal pain completed the NSS, Children&rsquo, s Somatization Inventory (CSI), Functional Disability Inventory (FDI), Abdominal Pain Index (API), Patient-Report Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), Anxiety and Depression Scales and the Pediatric Rome III Questionnaire for FGIDs. The NSS demonstrated good concurrent, discriminant, and construct validity, as well as good internal consistency. One-third (34%) of AP-FGID patients reported experiencing nausea &ldquo, most&rdquo, or &ldquo, every day&rdquo, in the previous two weeks. The severity of nausea was higher in females than males and correlated significantly with the severity of somatic symptoms, functional disability, anxiety, and depression. The NSS is a valid and reliable measure of nausea in children with AP-FGID.

BACKGROUND: In healthy individuals, elevated resting blood pressure (BP) is associated with reduced pain responsiveness and lower temporal summation. Prior work indicates that this BP-related hypoalgesia is reduced in individuals with chronic pain. PURPOSE: This study evaluated whether resolution of chronic pain was associated with greater BP-related hypoalgesia compared to nonresolution. METHODS: From a prospective sample of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with chronic functional abdominal pain an average of 9 years earlier, 99 individuals in whom the condition had resolved and 51 individuals with ongoing abdominal pain were studied. Resting systolic BP was assessed, followed by evaluation of thermal pain threshold and tolerance, and assessment of temporal summation to thermal pain stimuli. RESULTS: Higher resting systolic BP was significantly associated with higher pain threshold and tolerance, and lower temporal summation only in the group with resolved functional abdominal pain (p < .05). Hierarchical regressions revealed that interactions between BP and resolution of chronic pain were significant only for pain tolerance (p < .05). Analyses by sex indicated that interactions between BP and resolution status were significant for the temporal summation outcome in males but not in females. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that BP-related hypoalgesic mechanisms may be more effective in individuals in whom chronic pain has resolved compared to those with ongoing chronic pain. Findings hint at sex differences in the extent to which resolution of chronic pain is associated with BP-related hypoalgesia. Whether greater BP-related hypoalgesia is a consequence of, or alternatively a contributor to, resolution of chronic pain warrants further investigation.

Health anxiety (HA) refers to excessive worries and anxiety about harbouring serious illness based on misinterpretation of bodily sensations or changes as signs of serious illness. Severe HA is associated with disability and high health care costs. However, the impact of parental HA on excessive concern with their children's health (health anxiety by proxy) is scantly investigated. The aim of this study is to investigate HA by proxy in mothers with severe HA. Fifty mothers with severe HA and two control groups were included, i.e. mothers with rheumatoid arthritis (N = 49) and healthy mothers (N = 51). All participants completed self-report questionnaires on their own HA and illness perceptions and on illness worries and illness behaviour related to their children. The results showed that mothers with severe HA reported significantly more negative illness perceptions and more HA on behalf of their child (i.e. by proxy) compared to both control groups. HA by proxy may be an overlooked treatment target in mothers with severe HA, and improving our understanding of this condition can have important preventive and clinical implications.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and abdominal pain of functional origin (AP) are common gastrointestinal disorders in children, which are associated with increased risk for depression and disability. Both symptom severity and coping with symptoms may contribute to these outcomes. We hypothesized that children with AP use different coping strategies compared with those with IBD for a number of reasons, including the fact that fewer treatment options are available to them. We also examined whether coping was related to depression and functional disability beyond the contributions of symptom severity.The study method included secondary data analysis of 2 existing data sets including 200 children with AP (73% girls, mean age 11.2 years) and 189 children with IBD (49% girls, mean age 13.8 years).Compared with patients with IBD, patients with AP reported more use of coping strategies of self-isolation, behavioral disengagement, and catastrophizing, as well as problem solving and seeking social support. Multivariate analyses revealed that, in both samples, ≥1 coping strategies were associated with depression and functional disability, independent of symptom severity, and controlling for age and sex. In IBD, symptoms were not a significant predictor of depression but coping was. Catastrophizing predicted depression and disability in both samples.Patients with AP report more frequent use of several of the coping strategies we measured compared with patients with IBD. Certain types of coping, particularly catastrophizing, were associated with greater depression and functional disability in both groups. Clinicians should be aware of maladaptive coping, which may be a risk factor for poor psychosocial and functional outcomes in both patient groups.

Race and ethnicity shape the experience of pain in adults. African Americans typically exhibit greater pain intensity and evoked pain responsiveness than non-Hispanic whites. However, it remains unclear whether there are racial differences in conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and if these are present in youth. CPM refers to a reduction in perceived pain intensity for a test stimulus during application of a conditioning stimulus and may be especially relevant in determining risk for chronic pain. The present study assessed CPM to evoked thermal pain in 78 healthy youth (ages 10–17 years), 51% of whom were African American and 49% of whom were non-Hispanic white. African American youth reported lower mean conditioning pain ratings than non-Hispanic white youth, controlling for mean preconditioning pain ratings, which is consistent with stronger CPM. Multilevel models demonstrated stronger CPM effects in African American than non-Hispanic white youth, as evident in more rapid within-person decreases in pain ratings during the conditioning phase. These findings suggest that diminished CPM likely does not account for the enhanced responsiveness to evoked thermal pain observed in African American youth. These results may have implications for understanding racial differences in chronic pain experienced in adulthood. Perspective This study evaluated conditioned pain modulation to evoked thermal pain in African American and non-Hispanic white youth. Findings could have implications for the development of personalized chronic pain treatment strategies that are informed by race and ethnicity.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that caregiver-reported difficulties in infant behavior and caregivers' distress will significantly improve on lactose-free (LF) milk-based or LF soy-based formulas compared with a milk-based, lactose-containing formula. METHODS In this double-blind randomized controlled trial, infants (mean age: 4.97 weeks) with caregiver-reported feeding problems on a milk-based lactose-containing formula were randomized to receive either LF milk-based (n = 96), LF soy-based (n = 97), or milk-based, lactose-containing (n = 103) formula. Study formula was infants' sole item of diet for 14 days. Infants' caregivers completed measures of infant behavior and caregivers' distress for the week preceding baseline and again for the week preceding the 14-day follow-up. RESULTS Infants who received LF milk or LF soy-based formulas did not significantly differ from those who received milk-based, lactose-containing formula on follow-up caregiver-reported measures of infant difficultness from the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire, F(2, 277) = 0.83, nor on measures of caregivers' distress, assessed with measures of caregivers' mental health and parenting efficacy, F(2, 285) = 0.73-1.07. Across the 3 formula groups, scores on outcome measures significantly improved from baseline to follow-up (P

Individuals with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) report experiencing trauma more often than healthy controls, but little is known regarding psychophysical correlates.The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that adolescents and young adults with FGIDs since childhood and a trauma history (n = 38) would exhibit heightened temporal summation to thermal pain stimuli, an index of central sensitization, and greater clinical symptoms compared to patients with FGIDs and no trauma history (n = 95) and healthy controls (n = 135).Participants completed self-report measures, an experimental pain protocol, and psychiatric diagnostic interview as part of a larger longitudinal study.FGID + Trauma patients exhibited greater temporal summation than FGID + No Trauma patients and healthy controls. Additionally, FGID + Trauma patients exhibited greater gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal symptom severity, number of chronic pain sites, and disability.Assessing for trauma history in patients with FGIDs could identify a subset at risk for greater central sensitization and pain-related symptoms.

Racial differences in pain responsiveness have been demonstrated in adults. However, it is unclear whether racial differences are also present in youth and whether they extend to experimental pain indices assessing temporal summation of second pain (TSSP). Temporal summation of second pain provides an index of pain sensitivity and may be especially relevant in determining risk for chronic pain. This study assessed pain tolerance and TSSP to evoked thermal pain in 78 healthy youth (age range, 10-17), 51% of whom were African American and 49% were non-Hispanic white. Multilevel models revealed within-individual increases in pain ratings during the temporal summation task in non-Hispanic white youth that were consistent with TSSP. Pain ratings did not change significantly during the temporal summation task in African-American youth. Baseline evoked pain ratings were significantly higher in African-American compared with non-Hispanic white youth. These findings suggest that enhanced responsiveness to evoked thermal pain in African Americans is present in adolescence but is unlikely to be related to elevated TSSP. These results may have implications for understanding racial differences in chronic pain experience in adulthood.

Background & Aims Pediatric functional abdominal pain has been linked to functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) in adulthood, but little is known about patient characteristics in childhood that increase the risk for FGID in young adulthood. We investigated the contribution of gastrointestinal symptoms, extraintestinal somatic symptoms, and depressive symptoms in pediatric patients with functional abdominal pain and whether these predicted FGIDs later in life. Methods In a longitudinal study, consecutive new pediatric patients, diagnosed with functional abdominal pain in a subspecialty clinic, completed a comprehensive baseline evaluation of the severity of their physical and emotional symptoms. They were contacted 5 to 15 years later and evaluated, based on Rome III symptom criteria, for abdominal pain–related FGIDs, including irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, functional abdominal pain syndrome, and abdominal migraine. Controlling for age, sex, baseline severity of abdominal pain, and time to follow-up evaluation, multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of baseline gastrointestinal, extraintestinal somatic, and depressive symptoms in childhood with FGID in adolescence and young adulthood. Results Of 392 patients interviewed an average of 9.2 years after their initial evaluation, 41% (n = 162) met symptom criteria for FGID; most met the criteria for irritable bowel syndrome. Extraintestinal somatic and depressive symptoms at the initial pediatric evaluation were significant predictors of FGID later in life, after controlling for initial levels of GI symptoms. Age, sex, and abdominal pain severity at initial presentation were not significant predictors of FGID later in life. Conclusions In pediatric patients with functional abdominal pain, assessment of extraintestinal and depressive symptoms may be useful in identifying those at risk for FGID in adolescence and young adulthood.

Having a parent with chronic pain (CP) may confer greater risk of persistence of CP from childhood into young adulthood. Social learning, such as parental modeling and reinforcement, represents one plausible mechanism for the transmission of risk of CP from parents to offspring. Based on a 7-day pain diary in 154 pediatric patients with functional abdominal CP, we tested a model in which parental CP predicted adolescents' daily average CP severity and functional impairment (distal outcomes) via parental modeling of pain behaviors and parental reinforcement of adolescent's pain behaviors (mediators) and adolescents' cognitive appraisals of pain threat (proximal outcome representing adolescents' encoding of parents' behaviors). Results indicated significant indirect pathways from parental CP status to adolescent average daily pain severity (b = 0.18, SE = 0.08, 95% confidence interval: 0.04-0.31, P = 0.03) and functional impairment (b = 0.08, SE = 0.04, 95% confidence interval: 0.02-0.15, P = 0.03) over the 7-day diary period via adolescents' observations of parent pain behaviors and adolescent pain threat appraisal. The indirect pathway through parental reinforcing responses to adolescents' pain did not reach significance for either adolescent pain severity or functional impairment. Identifying mechanisms of increased risk of pain and functional impairment in children of parents with CP ultimately could lead to targeted interventions aimed at improving functioning and quality of life in families with CP. Parental modeling of pain behaviors represents a potentially promising target for family-based interventions to ameliorate pediatric CP.

Considerable research links chronic pain to autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction, specifically low heart rate variability (HRV) mediated by reduced parasympathetic activity. However, little is known about factors that influence ANS function in chronic pain. The ANS is the primary pathway for brain-gut communication, making it of particular interest in gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, characterized by functional abdominal pain (FAP). We evaluated the relation of sex, pain severity, and psychological stress to ANS function in adolescents/young adults from a database of pediatric FAP and control participants enrolled 8 years earlier in a prospective study of pain. At follow-up in adolescence/young adulthood (Mean age = 19.46, SD = 3.48), we classified participants as Pain-Remit (n = 130), Pain-Persist (n = 96), and pain-free controls (n = 123). We recorded electrocardiogram data at rest and during laboratory stressors. Results demonstrated significantly lower HRV in Pain-Persist females compared with Pain-Remit females, female controls, and all males regardless of pain category. Spectral analysis of electrocardiogram showed that Pain-Persist females had reduced power in the high frequency domain of cardiac activity, ie, reduced parasympathetic "braking" of sympathetic activity, both at rest and during stress. Pain-Remit females exhibited levels of autonomic imbalance intermediate between those of females with persistent FAP and all other participants. Parasympathetically mediated low HRV in young women with persistent FAP may reflect a peripheral mechanism (eg, gut dysfunction) or a central nervous system mechanism (eg, pain amplification or poor emotion self-regulation) involving prolonged sympathetic activation.

BACKGROUND: Cross-sectional studies link functional abdominal pain (FAP) to anxiety and depression in childhood, but no prospective study has evaluated psychiatric status in adulthood or its relation to pain persistence. METHODS: Pediatric patients with FAP (n = 332) and control subjects (n = 147) were tracked prospectively and evaluated for psychiatric disorders and functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) at follow-up in adolescence and young adulthood (mean age = 20.01 years). Participants were classified according to presence (FGID-POS) or absence (FGID-NEG) of FGIDs at follow-up. RESULTS: Lifetime and current risk of anxiety disorders was higher in FAP than controls (lifetime: 51% vs 20%; current: 30% vs 12%). Controlling for gender and age, the odds ratio was 4.9 (confidence interval = 2.83–7.43) for lifetime anxiety disorder and 3.57 (confidence interval = 2.00–6.36) for current anxiety disorder at follow-up for FAP versus controls. Lifetime risk of depressive disorder was significantly higher in FAP versus controls (40% vs. 16%); current risk did not differ. In most cases, initial onset of anxiety disorders was before pediatric FAP evaluation; onset of depressive disorders was subsequent to FAP evaluation. Within the FAP group, risk of current anxiety disorders at follow-up was significantly higher for FGID-POS versus FGID-NEG (40% vs 24%), and both were higher than controls (12%); current depressive disorders did not differ across FGID-POS, FGID-NEG, and controls. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with FAP carry long-term vulnerability to anxiety that begins in childhood and persists into late adolescence and early adulthood, even if abdominal pain resolves.

Objective To evaluate effects of mothers’ and fathers’ chronic pain on health outcomes in adult sons and daughters with a childhood history of functional abdominal pain (FAP). Method Adults (n = 319; Mean age = 22.09 years) with a childhood history of FAP reported parental history of chronic pain and their own current health (chronic pain, somatic symptoms, disability, use of medication and health care, illness-related job loss). Results Positive histories of maternal and paternal chronic pain were each associated with poorer health in sons and daughters, regardless of child or parent gender. Having 2 parents with chronic pain was associated with significantly poorer health than having 1 or neither parent with chronic pain. Conclusions Chronic pain in both mothers and fathers is associated with poor health and elevated health service use in young adults with a childhood history of FAP. Having both parents with chronic pain increases risk for adverse outcomes.

Encopresis is a significant medical problem for millions of children. Despite its prevalence, poor treatment success rates indicate that it is often difficult to treat. The goal of this study was to evaluate an Internet intervention for encopresis (UCanPoopToo) with children from across the US. A 2 (Group) 3 (Time) RCT was used to evaluate the efficacy of UCanPoopToo. Participants were randomized to a treatmentas-usual (TAU) or TAU UCanPoopToo group. Assessments were completed at baseline (Pre), 4‐6 weeks following baseline (Post), and one year follow-up (Post12). At baseline, the TAU and TAU UCanPoopToo retrospectively reported a median 9 and 8 accidents, respectively, over the previous two weeks. Using prospective online diary data, the TAU group reported a median 8 accidents at Post and 3 accidents at Post12, compared to the TAU UCanPoopToo group report of a median 4.5 accidents at Post and 1 accident at Post12. At Post12, a significant difference was found between success rates (1 accident/2 weeks) of 28% for the TAU group and 64% for the TAU UCanPoopToo group. At Post12, a significant difference was also found between cure rates (0 accidents/2 weeks) of 20% for the TAU group and 50% for the TAU UCanPoopToo group. This study supports the use of an Internet intervention for encopresis. Increasing the ability for clinicians to refer their patients to evidencebased Internet interventions has meaningful implications for clinical practice as it extends the reach of treatment options for patients and enables provision of interventions otherwise unavailable.

Little is known about family risk factors and intergenerational transmission of psychological disturbance in the development of health anxiety (HA). This study investigated HA and related concepts in 8- to 17-year-old children who had been exposed to different maternal health status. Using a family case-control design, three family groups were included: (1) 50 case children of mothers with severe (HA); (2) 49 control children of mothers with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); and (3) 51 control children of healthy mothers. Children and mothers completed a battery of standardised questionnaires. Case children reported significantly higher level of HA symptoms than children of mothers with RA but not compared to children of healthy mothers. There was no significant difference between the children's self-reports in the three groups with regard to anxiety symptoms in general, physical complaints, or quality of life. In contrast, mothers with HA reported their children as having more emotional and physical symptoms than mothers in one or both control groups. Compared to mothers with RA but not healthy mothers, mothers with HA also reported more visits to the general practitioner with their children during the past year. The findings suggest that maternal HA only weakly affects children's own report of HA and thereby may not be a strong risk factor for the development of HA symptoms in childhood. However, mothers with severe HA seem to conceive their children as more ill and present them more often in the health care system which could, therefore, be an important target for intervention in adult patients.

Cognitive appraisals inform and shape individuals' pain experiences. As researchers examine mechanisms of cognitive-behavioral interventions for chronic pain, psychometrically sound measures based in cognitive theory are needed to directly assess pain beliefs. The Pain Beliefs Questionnaire (PBQ), a 32-item self-report measure informed by coping and appraisal theory, was designed to assess children's pain threat appraisals, problem-focused pain coping efficacy, and emotion-focused pain coping efficacy. The present study aimed to: 1) create a short form of the PBQ, and 2) evaluate the psychometric properties of the reduced measure in a large database of pediatric patients with functional abdominal pain (n = 871). Item reduction analyses identified an 18-item short form of the PBQ (PBQ-SF) that exhibited psychometric properties similar to the original measure. All 3 subscales of the PBQ-SF exhibited strong internal consistency (α levels ranged from .79 to .80) and adequate test-retest reliability at 2 weeks. Evidence for construct validity was provided by examining patterns of partial correlations for each subscale. The PBQ-SF represents a valid and reliable measure for evaluating children's pain beliefs. Future studies should investigate the treatment sensitivity of the PBQ-SF to evaluate its appropriateness for use in clinical trials. Perspective This article presents the psychometric properties of a reduced 18-item version of a measure used to assess children's pain beliefs in a large sample of children with functional abdominal pain. This measure could help identify processes and individual differences underlying children's responses to psychological treatments for chronic pain.

Nausea is common amongst children with functional gastrointestinal disorders and is associated with a high burden of somatic and psychosocial comorbidities in both the short and long-term. Current treatments including medications, phytotherapy, stress-reduction techniques, and gastric electrical stimulation for recalcitrant cases, are reviewed. Functional nausea merits its own diagnostic criteria as a pediatric functional gastrointestinal disorder.

BACKGROUND Studies testing the efficacy of behavioral interventions to modify psychosocial sequelae of inflammatory bowel disease in children are limited. This report presents outcomes through a 6-month follow-up from a large randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of a cognitive behavioral intervention for children with inflammatory bowel disease and their parents. METHODS One hundred eighty-five children aged 8 to 17 years with a diagnosis of Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis and their parents were randomized to one of two 3-session conditions: (1) a social learning and cognitive behavioral therapy condition or (2) an education support condition designed to control for time and attention. RESULTS There was a significant overall treatment effect for school absences due to Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis (P < 0.05) at 6 months after treatment. There was also a significant overall effect after treatment for child-reported quality of life (P < 0.05), parent-reported increases in adaptive child coping (P < 0.001), and reductions in parents' maladaptive responses to children's symptoms (P < 0.05). Finally, exploratory analyses indicated that for children with a higher level of flares (2 or more) prebaseline, those in social learning and cognitive behavioral therapy condition experienced a greater reduction in flares after treatment. CONCLUSIONS This trial suggests that a brief cognitive behavioral intervention for children with inflammatory bowel disease and their parents can result in improved child functioning and quality of life, and for some children may decrease disease activity.

Although pediatric functional abdominal pain (FAP) has been linked to abdominal pain later in life, childhood predictors of long-term outcomes have not been identified. This study evaluated whether distinct FAP profiles based on patterns of pain and adaptation in childhood could be identified and whether these profiles predicted differences in clinical outcomes and central sensitization (wind-up) on average 9years later. In 843 pediatric FAP patients, cluster analysis was used to identify subgroups at initial FAP evaluation based on profiles of pain severity, gastrointestinal (GI) and non-GI symptoms, pain threat appraisal, pain coping efficacy, catastrophizing, negative affect, and activity impairment. Three profiles were identified: high pain dysfunctional, high pain adaptive, and low pain adaptive. Logistic regression analyses controlling for age and sex showed that, compared with pediatric patients with the low pain adaptive profile, those with the high pain dysfunctional profile were significantly more likely at long-term follow-up to meet criteria for pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID) (odds ratio: 3.45, confidence interval: 1.95 to 6.11), FGID with comorbid nonabdominal chronic pain (odds ratio: 2.6, confidence interval: 1.45 to 4.66), and FGID with comorbid anxiety or depressive psychiatric disorder (odds ratio: 2.84, confidence interval: 1.35 to 6.00). Pediatric patients with the high pain adaptive profile had baseline pain severity comparable to that of the high pain dysfunctional profile, but had outcomes as favorable as the low pain adaptive profile. In laboratory pain testing at follow-up, high pain dysfunctional patients showed significantly greater thermal wind-up than low pain adaptive patients, suggesting that a subgroup of FAP patients has outcomes consistent with widespread effects of heightened central sensitization.

The objectives of this study were to characterize gastrointestinal dysfunction (GID) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), to examine parental reports of GID relative to evaluations by pediatric gastroenterologists, and to explore factors associated with GID in ASD. One hundred twenty-one children were recruited into three groups: co-occurring ASD and GID, ASD without GID, and GID without ASD. A pediatric gastroenterologist evaluated both GID groups. Parents in all three groups completed questionnaires about their child's behavior and GI symptoms, and a dietary journal. Functional constipation was the most common type of GID in children with ASD (85.0%). Parental report of any GID was highly concordant with a clinical diagnosis of any GID (92.1%). Presence of GID in children with ASD was not associated with distinct dietary habits or medication status. Odds of constipation were associated with younger age, increased social impairment, and lack of expressive language (adjusted odds ratio in nonverbal children: 11.98, 95% confidence interval 2.54-56.57). This study validates parental concerns for GID in children with ASD, as parents were sensitive to the existence, although not necessarily the nature, of GID. The strong association between constipation and language impairment highlights the need for vigilance by health-care providers to detect and treat GID in children with ASD. Medications and diet, commonly thought to contribute to GID in ASD, were not associated with GID status. These findings are consistent with a hypothesis that GID in ASD represents pleiotropic expression of genetic risk factors.

Idiopathic or functional abdominal pain (FAP) is common in school-age children and typically reflects a functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID). FGIDs in adults have been distinguished by enhanced responses of the central nervous system to pain stimuli, known as central sensitization. This study investigated whether adolescents and young adults with a history of pediatric FAP (n=144), compared with well control subjects (n=78), showed enhanced central sensitization demonstrated by greater temporal summation (wind-up) to brief, repetitive heat pulses. We also assessed the role of gender and trait anxiety in wind-up to heat pain. Women with a history of FAP showed greater wind-up to heat pain than men with a history of FAP (P

Chronic or recurrent abdominal pain affects 8% to 25% of healthy school-age children (1–3) and is characterized by continuous or episodic abdominal pain. In most cases, the pain is functional—it cannot be adequately explained by structural or biochemical abnormalities (4). Pediatric functional abdominal pain (Ped-FAP) persists throughout development in a significant proportion of children (1,5–8) and has been linked to functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) such as irritable bowel syndrome in adulthood (7,9,10). Despite evidence that Ped-FAP may persist for years, the field has not yet identified factors that reliably predict which pediatric patients will have FGIDs in adolescence and adulthood. One promising factor is the expression of nongastrointestinal (non-GI) somatic symptoms. Non-GI somatic symptoms have been linked to higher levels of disability (11) and emotional distress (12) in patients with Ped-FAP. Moreover, a prospective cohort study identified a subgroup of patients with Ped-FAP characterized by consistently high levels of somatic symptoms at each assessment during a 5-year period following their initial medical evaluation (13). These findings suggest that non-GI somatic symptoms may be a useful marker of increased risk for poor long-term outcomes in patients with Ped-FAP. The present study is based on data from a cohort of patients with Ped-FAP and well controls studied prospectively for 4 to 15 years. The study aimed to determine whether non-GI somatic symptoms reported by patients with Ped-FAP at their initial medical evaluation were relevant to predicting which patients with Ped-FAP would subsequently meet criteria for FGIDs as adolescents and young adults. We assessed non-GI somatic symptoms in well controls and in patients with Ped-FAP at the time of their evaluation at a pediatric gastroenterology clinic. At follow-up, we assessed the Rome III symptom criteria for abdominal pain–predominant FGIDs. We hypothesized that patients with Ped-FAP with higher baseline levels of non-GI somatic symptoms would have a greater risk of FGIDs at follow-up.

Objective To evaluate the relation between dispositional and episode-specific pain coping measures, the variability of episode-specific pain coping over time, and the utility of dispositional versus episode-specific measures of pain coping in predicting outcomes in pediatric patients with chronic abdominal pain (CAP). Method Participants (N = 116) completed a clinic interview, a week of daily diary interviews, and 3-month follow-up questionnaires. Daily coping reports were averaged and compared to dispositional coping reports. Coping reports were used to predict depressive symptoms, somatic symptoms, and functional disability at follow-up. Results Dispositional pain coping measures significantly correlated with averaged episode-specific measures. Passive coping predicted higher levels of all outcome variables. The averaged episode-specific passive coping measure was a stronger predictor than a dispositional measure. Measures of active and accommodative coping were not significant predictors. Conclusions Assessment of coping with specific pain episodes may enhance understanding of pain coping.

Elevated resting blood pressure (BP) is hypoalgesic in healthy individuals, but this effect is absent in adults with chronic somatic pain. This study tested whether BP-related hypoalgesia is similarly altered in individuals with a history of chronic visceral pain in childhood. Resting BP was assessed in 94 adolescents and young adults with a known history of childhood functional abdominal pain (FAP) and 55 comparable healthy controls. Responses to an acute heat pain stimulus were then evaluated following exposure to two laboratory stressors. A significant participant type × systolic BP (SBP) interaction (p < .005) revealed that elevated resting SBP was associated with significantly higher heat pain threshold (p < .001) in healthy controls, but was unrelated to pain threshold in the FAP group. A similar pattern was observed for heat pain tolerance, with elevated SBP linked to significantly higher pain tolerance (p < .05) in healthy controls, but unrelated to tolerance in the FAP group. Dysfunction in BP-related hypoalgesia associated with FAP was evident regardless of whether childhood FAP had resolved or still persisted at the time of laboratory testing. Subgroup analyses indicated that BP-related hypoalgesia (in healthy controls) and FAP-linked absence of this hypoalgesia was observed only among females. Result suggest that childhood visceral chronic pain may be associated with relatively long-lasting dysfunction in overlapping systems modulating pain and BP that persists even after FAP resolves. Potential implications for later hypertension risk are discussed.

To compare autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and somatic symptoms in chronic abdominal pain (CAP) patients and well children during (a) resting baseline, (b) training in a cognitive task, and (c) random assignment to success vs. failure on the task.The ECG was continuously recorded with a dual lead system (Biopac) in 45 CAP patients and 22 well children, ages 9-16 years (mean age=12.3). Heart rate variability (HRV) was analyzed during the 5-min resting baseline, training, and success/failure on the task. Performance expectations were assessed before the task. Gastrointestinal (GI) and non-GI somatic symptoms were assessed before and after the task.Compared to well children, CAP patients reported lower expectations for their task performance and higher GI symptoms (P's.05). During success, CAP patients exhibited significant increases in both sympathetic (P.05) and parasympathetic (P.05) activity, whereas well children exhibited no change in ANS activity. During failure, CAP patients exhibited significant increases in somatic symptoms (.05) but no change in ANS activity.The lower performance expectations of CAP patients compared to well children may have influenced their experience of success and contributed to differences in their autonomic activity.

This study sought to evaluate the extent to which the pain coping profiles observed by Walker and colleagues [28] in a sample of patients with chronic abdominal pain also were evident in a sample of adolescent patients who presented to a tertiary care clinic for evaluation of a variety of diverse pain conditions. In addition, we aimed to evaluate the relation of these pain coping profiles to patients’ emotional and physical functioning. Participants ( n = 254) were adolescent patients aged 12–17 years. Patients completed the Pain Response Inventory (PRI) as well as measures of pain, somatic symptoms, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and functional disability. Using the PRI classification algorithm developed by Walker and colleagues [28], we successfully classified all the patients in our sample. We also found that the pain coping profiles successfully differentiated among patients with different levels of symptoms, disability, and emotional distress, further demonstrating the external validity of these profiles. Results have implications for tailoring pain treatment interventions to patients’ particular coping profiles.

The association between clinical symptoms and laboratory visceral sensitivity remains poorly defined and controversial. It has even been suggested that laboratory observations of visceral sensitivity are irrelevant to the clinical presentation of chronic visceral pain. To better understand this association, gastrointestinal and psychological features of pediatric patients' clinical presentation were examined in relation to a laboratory-based measure of visceral sensitivity.At the time of their medical evaluation, 101 patients with medically unexplained abdominal pain (ages 8-15 years) completed validated questionnaires assessing recent depressive symptoms, functional disability, pain efficacy beliefs, gastrointestinal (GI), and non-GI symptoms. These clinical features were examined in relation to visceral sensitivity assessed 2 months later in the laboratory. The measure of visceral sensitivity was based on increases in GI complaints in response to the water load symptom provocation task.More severe GI symptoms and functional disability in the weeks before patients' clinical evaluation were associated with significantly greater increases in GI symptoms in the laboratory in response to the water load symptom provocation task (all P0.04). Patients believing that they had the ability to alleviate their pain (high problem-focused pain efficacy) had significantly lower laboratory visceral sensitivity (P0.01). Clinical depressive symptoms and non-GI symptoms were not associated with laboratory visceral sensitivity.Clinical presentations of more severe GI symptoms and disability as well as low perceived pain efficacy are significant predictors of laboratory visceral sensitivity in children with functional abdominal pain. Depression does not account for the association between clinical presentation of GI symptoms and a laboratory measure of visceral sensitivity.

Standardized symptom-based criteria for pediatric functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) were introduced in 1999 with the publication of the Rome II criteria for FGIDs in children (1). Since their publication, the Rome II criteria have been used to assess the prevalence of FGIDs in community settings (2,3) and have served as selection criteria in laboratory studies of pediatric FGIDs (4). Several empirical studies have used the Rome II criteria to estimate the rates of various FGIDs among children with primary symptoms of abdominal pain (5–7). In addition, psychosocial characteristics of children who meet criteria for FGIDs defined by the Rome II criteria have been identified (8,9). Thus, the Rome II criteria for pediatric FGIDs have considerably advanced research in this area. Research using the Rome II criteria provided the foundation for the updated Rome III criteria (10,11). Changes from the Rome II to the Rome III criteria for pediatric FGIDs include a reduction in the required duration of symptoms, the addition of new FGID categories (eg, Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome), changes to specific criteria for several FGIDs, and separate criteria defining FGIDs among infants versus children and adolescents. The rationale for these changes is described in detail alongside the published Rome III criteria (11). However, the implications of these changes for patient classification are so far unknown, to our knowledge. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of Rome II versus Rome III criteria in the classification of gastrointestinal symptoms described by children undergoing medical evaluation for chronic abdominal pain. Specifically, the study compared classification results using Rome II versus Rome III criteria for 5 FGIDs associated with abdominal pain: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Abdominal Migraine, Functional Dyspepsia, Functional Abdominal Pain, and Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome.

Objectives:Toidentifysymptomsand psychosocialfactorsthat predicted referral for esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and discriminated between patients with positive versus negative biopsy findings. Patients and Methods: Children age 8 to 16 years old and parents completed validated questionnaires assessing gastrointestinal symptoms and psychosocial characteristics. Biopsy results of esophagus, stomach, and duodenum were reviewed. Results: From the total sample of 461 patients (mean age 11.87 years, 62% girls), 127 (28%) underwent EGD with biopsy (mean age 12.1 years, 57% girls). Upper abdominal gastrointestinal symptoms predicted EGD referral, and psychosocial characteristics did not. From the total of 127 patients who underwent EGD, complete biopsy results were available for 124 patients and were negative at all sites for 34.7% of patients (n ¼43), equivocal for 20.2% (n ¼25), and positive at 1 or more sites for 45.2% (n ¼56). Boys were more likely than girls to have positive biopsy results (56.6% vs 36.6%, P

This study examined predictors of maternal responses to children's abdominal pain symptoms. Mothers (N = 450) provided data on psychological distress (self and child), responses to their children's symptoms, and perceived symptom severity. Several demographic factors predicted protectiveness and/or symptom monitoring: younger or male child, maternal non-Caucasian race or less education, and no father in the home. Psychosocial predictors included maternal somatization (related to greater monitoring and less minimization) and child distress (related to greater minimization). A child gender × condition severity interaction indicated greater protection of boys based on perceived severity, but no such discrimination for girls.

OBJECTIVES Abdominal pain is a frequent childhood complaint, comprising 2% to 4% of all reasons for pediatric office visits. Patients referred for evaluation of chronic abdominal pain (CAP) frequently present with comorbid nonspecific somatic symptoms that may complicate the medical evaluation and lead to unnecessary diagnostic tests and procedures. We tested the hypothesis that multiple nongastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in children presenting with CAP is a marker for clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms. METHODS Participants were 400 consecutive new patients (ages 8-17 years; 63% female) referred to the pediatric gastroenterology clinic for evaluation of abdominal pain of > 3 months' duration. Patients reported how frequently they experienced 7 non-GI symptoms. Patients were screened for depression with the Children's Depression Inventory. RESULTS On the basis of their Children's Depression Inventory scores, 58 (15%) patients had a positive screen for clinically significant depressive symptoms. Patients with a positive versus negative depression screen did not differ by sex, pain duration or laboratory evidence of organic disease. Patient report of > or = 3 non-GI symptoms maximized sensitivity (71%) and specificity (75%) in prediction of depression screening results. With each addition of a non-GI symptom, the odds of a positive screen for depression doubled. CONCLUSIONS For patients with and without organic disease findings associated with CAP, the presence of > or = 3 non-GI symptoms should signal the practitioner to evaluate for depression and may be used as an indicator of the likelihood of depression in the absence of specific inquiry into emotional symptoms.