Anxiety and Somatic Complaints in Children with Recurrent Abdominal Pain and Anxiety Disorders

• Published in: Journal of pediatric psychology 2009-03, Vol.34 (2), p.176-186
• Main Authors: Dufton, Lynette M., Dunn, Madeleine J., Compas, Bruce E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdominal Pain - diagnosis; Abdominal Pain - epidemiology; Adolescent; adolescents; anxiety; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child clinical studies; children; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Recurrence; recurrent pain; Sections on Quality of Life in Chronic Conditions; Severity of Illness Index; Somatoform Disorders - epidemiology; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0146-8693; 1465-735X
• DOI: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsn064

Objective To compare anxiety symptoms and disorders in children and adolescents with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP), anxiety disorders, and healthy control children. Methods Twenty-one children with RAP (nine males, mean age = 11.05) were compared to 21 children with anxiety disorders (11 males, mean age = 12.29), and 21 children without pain or anxiety (nine males, mean age = 11.57) using diagnostic interviews and continuous measures of anxiety and other internalizing symptoms. Results Sixty-seven percent of children with RAP met criteria for an anxiety disorder. Children with RAP were higher than well children but not significantly different from children with anxiety on total internalizing and anxiety symptoms. Conclusions RAP and anxiety are closely related. Further understanding between these disorders is essential to understanding the development and progression of RAP, and to inform the prevention and treatment of the disorder.