Global prevalence and burden of meal-related abdominal pain

Esther Colomier (1, 2) , Chloé Melchior (3, 4, 5, 6, 1) , Joost Algera (1) , Jóhann Hreinsson (1) , Stine Störsrud (1) , Hans Törnblom (1) , Lukas van Oudenhove (2, 7) , Olafur Palsson (8) , Shrikant Bangdiwala (9, 10) , Ami Sperber (11) , Jan Tack (1, 2) , Magnus Simrén (1, 8)

1 GU - Göteborgs Universitet = University of Gothenburg
2 KU Leuven - Catholic University of Leuven = Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
3 ADEN - Nutrition, inflammation et dysfonctionnement de l'axe intestin-cerveau
4 IRIB - Institute for Research and Innovation in Biomedicine
5 UNIROUEN UFR Santé - UNIROUEN - UFR Santé
6 Service d'Hépato-Gastroentérologie [CHU Rouen]
7 Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience Lab (CANlab), Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
8 UNC Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
9 Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
10 Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
11 BGU - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Abstract Background Patients with disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) report meal intake to be associated with symptoms. DGBI patients with meal-related symptoms may have more severe symptoms overall and worse health outcomes, but this subgroup has not been well characterized. We aimed to describe the global prevalence of meal-related abdominal pain and characterize this subgroup. Methods The data analyzed originated from the Internet survey component of the population-based Rome Foundation Global Epidemiology Study, completed in 26 countries ( n = 54,127). Adult subjects were asked whether they had abdominal pain and how often this was meal-related. Respondents were categorized into “no,” “occasional,” and “frequent” meal-related abdominal pain groups based on 0%, 10–40%, and ≥50% of the pain episodes being meal-related, respectively. DGBI diagnoses, frequency of other GI symptoms, psychological distress, non-GI somatic symptoms, quality of life, and healthcare utilization were compared between groups. Mixed linear and ordinal regression was used to assess independent associations between psychological distress, non-GI somatic symptoms, quality of life, other GI symptoms, and meal-related abdominal pain. Results Overall, 51.9% of the respondents reported abdominal pain in the last 3 months, and 11.0% belonged to the group with frequent meal-related abdominal pain, which included more females and younger subjects. DGBI diagnoses were more common in subjects with frequent meal-related abdominal pain, and the frequency of several GI symptoms was associated with having more frequent meal-related abdominal pain. Having meal-related abdominal pain more frequently was also associated with more severe psychological distress, non-GI somatic symptoms, and a poorer quality of life. The group with frequent meal-related abdominal pain also more often consulted a doctor for bowel problems compared to the other groups of meal-related abdominal pain. Conclusion Reporting frequent meal-related abdominal pain is common across the globe and associated with other GI and non-GI somatic symptoms, psychological distress, healthcare utilization, and a poorer quality of life. Individuals who frequently experience meal-related abdominal pain also more frequently fulfill the diagnostic criteria for DGBI. Assessing meal-related symptoms in all DGBI patients could be of major importance to improve and individualize symptom management.

Domaines: Physiologie [q-bio.TO]

Esther Colomier, Chloé Melchior, Joost Algera, Jóhann Hreinsson, Stine Störsrud, et al.. Global prevalence and burden of meal-related abdominal pain. BMC Medicine, 2022, 20 (1), pp.71. ⟨10.1186/s12916-022-02259-7⟩. ⟨hal-03591544⟩