Recurrent Abdominal Pain, Anxiety, and Depression in Primary Care

Abstract

Youths who present with RAP in primary care deserve careful assessment for anxiety and depressive disorders. Future studies should examine treatments that are proved to be efficacious for pediatric anxiety and/or depressive disorders as potential interventions for RAP. Longitudinal, family, and psychobiological studies are needed to illuminate the nature of observed associations among RAP, anxiety, and depression.

Emotions and self‐esteem as indicators of somatic complaints in children

“…This process of misattribution can also explain the frequently found strong relationship between negative affect and somatic complaints in adults and children (Campo et al, 2004;De Waal, Arnold, Eekhof, & Van Hemert, 2004;Kronenberger, Laite, & Laclave, 1995;Taylor & Garralda, 2003;Whitehead, Palsson, & Jones, 2002). Negative emotions are usually accompanied by more frequent and more salient physiological reactions than positive emotions.…”

“…In the present study, conducted with children aged 8-13, we focused on several psychological factors that are often associated with reports of somatic complaints in adults and children, these being negative mood valence, symptoms of affect disorders (depression and social anxiety), coping and self-esteem. In contrast to most studies in which these variables are considered separately (Campo, Come, Jansen-McWilliams, Gardner, & Kelleher, 2002;Campo et al, 2004;Gordon, Dooley, & Wood, 2004;Scharff, Turk, & Marcus, 1995) we studied the relationships between these variables from a theory-driven perspective.…”

Low-dietary fiber intake as a risk factor for recurrent abdominal pain in children

“…The following symptoms are considered warning signs for the evaluation of organic diseases in patients with chronic abdominal pain: weight loss, blood in the stools, fever, anemia or inflammatory conditions, vomiting and nightly painful episodes which wake up the patient (Campo et al, 2004). Therefore, more than 90% of recurrent abdominal pains are accessorial to functional bowel abnormality (Boyle, 1997).…”

“…It is believed to be the result of the interaction of biopsychic and social issues (Rasquim-Weber et al, 1999;Campo et al, 2004). Somatic and visceral hypersensitivity are being biologically appraised in patients with recurrent abdominal pain as compared to control ones (Duarte et al, 2000;Di Lorenzo et al, 2001).…”

“…Somatic and visceral hypersensitivity are being biologically appraised in patients with recurrent abdominal pain as compared to control ones (Duarte et al, 2000;Di Lorenzo et al, 2001). A recent study in the psychological field has established a relation between recurrent abdominal pain, anxiety and depression (Campo et al, 2004). Presumably these individuals manifest painful symptoms developed by bowel peristalsis, especially when additional physical effort is required to evacuate.…”