Abused Kids Suffer Unexplained Abdominal Pain

Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 11:44

Children who have been abused psychologically, physically or sexually are at an increased risk of suffering unexplained abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting than kids who have not been abused.

When young patients complain about unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms, their doctors should ask questions to determine if they might have been abused. Children are often scared to tell if they have been abused or not, so help from psychiatrists are essential.

After analysising data from collected across 845 children aging between 4 to 12 years of age, it was found that gastrointestinal symptoms among children were an aftermath of any kind of abuse, maltreatment and psychological distress.

In the study, sexual abuse preceded or coincided with abdominal pain in 91 per cent of cases.