Objective: To assess whether patients with celiac disease (CD) are more likely than controls to develop abdominal pain (AP) and AP-associated functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) in long-term follow-up.
Study design: In a retrospective study, data on children (3-22 years old) with CD diagnosed between 2000 and 2010 were obtained. Parents were contacted by telephone at least 6 months after the diagnosis of CD and invited to participate in the study. Consenting parents completed: (1) a telephone questionnaire on the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms; and (2) the parent report version of the Questionnaire on Pediatric Gastrointestinal Symptoms-Rome III for cases and selected controls.
Results: Forty-nine cases (mean 11.3 years, 20 male participants) and 48 controls (mean 11.1 years, 24 male participants) were enrolled. Twelve children in the CD group (24.5%) and 7 children in the control group (14.6%) had AP at the time of the study (P = .3). Nine children in the CD group (18.3%) and 4 children in the control group (8.3%) met criteria for an AP-associated FGID according to the Questionnaire on Pediatric Gastrointestinal Symptoms-Rome III (P = .23).
Conclusion: It was found that children with CD and controls have a similar risk of AP and AP-FGIDs. Methodologic limitations prevent generalization of results, but large prospective studies should confirm the findings.
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