Background and objective: Dyspepsia is a common form of chronic abdominal pain in children and adolescents. Although it is usually functional or non-organic in origin, it disturbs daily activities, school attendance and the child's wellbeing. The authors evaluated prevalence and factors associated with dyspepsia among schoolchildren by comparing life-style of dyspeptic children with their asymptomatic peers.
Material and method: Total 1181 schoolchildren (mean age 14.7 +/- 1.8 years) were recruited from three schools in Bangkok. Data on dyspeptic symptoms were collected by using a questionnaire based on Rome III classification system. Potential precipitating factors for dyspepsia and life-style related to dyspepsia were also explored in the questionnaire.
Results: Dyspepsia was reported in 24.0% of the subjects. Prevalence was significantly higher in girls than in boys (27.0% vs. 20.0% p = 0.006). There was no difference between the comparison groups in terms of school test scores, past medical illness, parental marital status, parental income, number of siblings,frequency of stool and spicy food, carbonated beverage or dairy product consumption. The dyspepsia group had higher percentage of family history of peptic ulcer (odds ratio [OR] = 2.5 [95% CI = 1.7 to 3.7]), history of taking medicine (OR 1.7 [1 .0 to 2.9]), alcohol consumption (OR 2.4 [1.0 to 5.7]), severe stress (OR = 3.4 [1.2 to 9.9]) and extreme stress (OR = 3.9 [1.3 to 12.0]).
Conclusion: Prevalence of self-reported dyspepsia among schoolchildren in this survey was similar to those previously reported; with family history of peptic ulcer, history of taking medicine, alcohol consumption, stresses in life as potential risk factors.