Bacterial infections in childhood: A risk factor for gastrointestinal and other diseases?. Issue 1 (February 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schwille-Kiuntke, Juliane; Unverdorben, Alexandra; Weimer, Katja; Schlarb, Angelika Anita; Gulewitsch, Marco Daniel; Ellert, Ute; Enck, Paul
• Is Part Of: United European Gastroenterology journal. Volume 3:Issue 1(2015:Feb.)
• Page Start: 31
• Page End: 38
• Publication Date: 2015-02
• Subjects: Abdominal pain -- prevalence -- children -- salmonella infection -- post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome; Gastroenterology -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 616.33005
• DOI: 10.1177/2050640614558346
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-6406

Abstract

Background: There is evidence for post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) in adults, but little is known about PI-IBS in children. The nationwide representative German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) assessed children's health. Objective and methods: We identified 643 children (50.1% males) in the KiGGS cohort ( N = 15, 878, 51% males) with a history of Salmonella infection. The number was validated comparing this group with the known infection statistics from the Robert Koch-Institute registry. We compared this group to the remaining KiGGS cohort ( n = 12, 951) with respect to sociodemographic characteristics, pain and quality of life. To check for specificity, we repeated the comparisons with a group with a history of scarlet fever. Results: Infection statistics predicted 504 cases of Salmonella infection in the KiGGS cohort, indicating high validity of the data. In children between 3 and 10 years with a history of Salmonella infection, significantly more abdominal pain (31.7% versus 21.9%, p < 0.001) and headache (27.2% versus 15.1%, p < 0.001) were reported. This group showed lower quality of life ( p < 0.001). Comparison to a group of scarlet fever-infected children revealed poor specificity of the data. Conclusion: Differences found between children with and without Salmonella infection reveal the role of gastrointestinal infection in the development of post-infectious abdominal problems, but poor specificity may point toward a psychosocial ("somatization") rather than a Salmonella -specific mechanism.