Bacterial infections in childhood: A risk factor for gastrointestinal and other diseases?. Issue 1 (1st February 2015) - Schwille-Kiuntke, Juliane
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.