Around 11% of the global population frequently experience abdominal pain when they eat meals, according to a large online survey.
The research, presented at UEG Week Virtual 2021, found that was pain associated with eating is most common in those aged 18 to 28, with 15% of that age group affected. A gender split was seen, with 13% of women and 9% of men reporting eating-linked pain.
People experiencing frequent abdominal meal-related pain were also more likely to experience bloating, feeling full too soon, constipation and diarrhoea. The same group also had more severe psychological distress and non-gastrointestinal somatic symptoms.
A total of 36% of the people with frequent (>50% of the time) meal-related pain reported suffered from anxiety compared with 25% in the occasional (10-40% of the time) symptoms group and 18 % in those who never experienced meal-related pain. Those with frequent attacks also reported higher rates of depression (35%) compared to 24% in the occasional symptom group and 17% in the group that never had meal-related pain.
The findings came from an online survey of 54 127 people across 26 countries.
Esther Colomier, study author and a joint PhD researcher at KU Leuven, Belgium, and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, explained, “The take home message from this study is that people who experience meal-related abdominal pain more frequently experience other gastrointestinal symptoms and more regularly fulfil criteria for disorders of the gut brain interactions (DGBIs, formerly known as functional gut disorders), including common conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bloating and abdominal distension.”
“They also have a higher burden of psychological and somatic symptoms, such as back pain or shortness of breath, which are associated with major distress and functioning problems. These symptoms cause distress and disruption in daily life”, she added.
Lower gastrointestinal symptoms such as constipation and diarrhoea were experienced in 30% of those who reported frequent meal-related pain, versus 20% in the group who reported occasional symptoms and 10 % in the no symptoms at all group. The same applied for bloating and abdominal distension symptoms, which were reported as often as once a week in the group who experienced frequent meal pain, compared to two or three days a month in the group with occasional pain and one day a month in the group who experienced no symptoms.
Esther Colomier concluded, “Considering meal-related symptoms in future diagnostic criteria for DGBIs should be encouraged. In clinical practice, assessing meal association in all patients with DGBIs could be of major importance for improving and individualising treatment. Here, patients could benefit from a multidisciplinary care approach, including dietary and lifestyle advice, psychological support and pharmacological therapy.
Source: EurekAlert!
