Recurrent abdominal pain and consulting behaviour among children in a rural community in Malaysia

Aim. To look at predictors of consulting behaviour among children with recurrent abdominal pain in a rural community in Malaysia. Subjects and methods. A sample of 1462 school-children aged between 9 and 15 years were randomly selected from all schools in Kuala Langat, a rural district in Malaysia....

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Main Authors: Boey, Christopher Chiong Meng, Goh, Khean Lee
Format: Article
Language:en
Published: Elsevier 2001
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Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/3232/1/Recurrent_abdominal_pain_and_consulting_behaviour_among_children_in_a_rural_community_in_Malaysia.pdf
http://eprints.um.edu.my/3232/
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1590-8658(01)80069-4
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author Boey, Christopher Chiong Meng
Goh, Khean Lee
author_facet Boey, Christopher Chiong Meng
Goh, Khean Lee
author_sort Boey, Christopher Chiong Meng
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
description Aim. To look at predictors of consulting behaviour among children with recurrent abdominal pain in a rural community in Malaysia. Subjects and methods. A sample of 1462 school-children aged between 9 and 15 years were randomly selected from all schools in Kuala Langat, a rural district in Malaysia. Those with recurrent abdominal pain, defined according to Apley's criteria, were recruited and divided into consulters and non-consulters. A consulter was defined as a child who had sought the help of a medical practitioner at least once in the past year for recurrent abdominal pain. A detailed clinical, social and family history was obtained in all recruited children. Results. A total of 161 children were recruited: 78 (48.4) consulters, 83 (51.6) non-consulters. Of the consulters, 40 were boys, 38 were girls (male:female ratio = 1.1:1). The two sexes did not show a significant difference in prevalence of consulters (p=0.189). Of the ethnic groups, only Indians had a significantly higher likelihood to consult a doctor (Indians, p=0.006; Malays, p=0.742; Chinese, p=0.050). Younger children (under 12 years) had a significantly higher chance of having been brought to see a medical practitioner (p=0.014). Children in whom age of onset of abdominal pain was below ten years were also more likely to have been seen by a doctor (p=0.012). Children who had consulted a doctor were more likely to be missing school because of abdominal pain (p<0.001). Pain severity was not a significant factor (p=0.429). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the only variable that remained significantly associated with health-care consultation was school absence (p=0.001). Conclusions. Children who saw their doctors for recurrent abdominal pain were also more likely to be those who missed school on account of abdominal pain. Following multiple regression analysis, other factors were no longer significant.
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spelling my.um.eprints-32322020-02-18T03:11:41Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/3232/ Recurrent abdominal pain and consulting behaviour among children in a rural community in Malaysia Boey, Christopher Chiong Meng Goh, Khean Lee R Medicine Aim. To look at predictors of consulting behaviour among children with recurrent abdominal pain in a rural community in Malaysia. Subjects and methods. A sample of 1462 school-children aged between 9 and 15 years were randomly selected from all schools in Kuala Langat, a rural district in Malaysia. Those with recurrent abdominal pain, defined according to Apley's criteria, were recruited and divided into consulters and non-consulters. A consulter was defined as a child who had sought the help of a medical practitioner at least once in the past year for recurrent abdominal pain. A detailed clinical, social and family history was obtained in all recruited children. Results. A total of 161 children were recruited: 78 (48.4) consulters, 83 (51.6) non-consulters. Of the consulters, 40 were boys, 38 were girls (male:female ratio = 1.1:1). The two sexes did not show a significant difference in prevalence of consulters (p=0.189). Of the ethnic groups, only Indians had a significantly higher likelihood to consult a doctor (Indians, p=0.006; Malays, p=0.742; Chinese, p=0.050). Younger children (under 12 years) had a significantly higher chance of having been brought to see a medical practitioner (p=0.014). Children in whom age of onset of abdominal pain was below ten years were also more likely to have been seen by a doctor (p=0.012). Children who had consulted a doctor were more likely to be missing school because of abdominal pain (p<0.001). Pain severity was not a significant factor (p=0.429). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the only variable that remained significantly associated with health-care consultation was school absence (p=0.001). Conclusions. Children who saw their doctors for recurrent abdominal pain were also more likely to be those who missed school on account of abdominal pain. Following multiple regression analysis, other factors were no longer significant. Elsevier 2001 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.um.edu.my/3232/1/Recurrent_abdominal_pain_and_consulting_behaviour_among_children_in_a_rural_community_in_Malaysia.pdf Boey, Christopher Chiong Meng and Goh, Khean Lee (2001) Recurrent abdominal pain and consulting behaviour among children in a rural community in Malaysia. Digestive and Liver Disease, 33 (2). pp. 140-144. ISSN 1125-8055, DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/s1590-8658(01)80069-4 <https://doi.org/10.1016/s1590-8658(01)80069-4>. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1590-8658(01)80069-4 doi:10.1016/s1590-8658(01)80069-4
spellingShingle R Medicine
Boey, Christopher Chiong Meng
Goh, Khean Lee
Recurrent abdominal pain and consulting behaviour among children in a rural community in Malaysia
title Recurrent abdominal pain and consulting behaviour among children in a rural community in Malaysia
title_full Recurrent abdominal pain and consulting behaviour among children in a rural community in Malaysia
title_fullStr Recurrent abdominal pain and consulting behaviour among children in a rural community in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Recurrent abdominal pain and consulting behaviour among children in a rural community in Malaysia
title_short Recurrent abdominal pain and consulting behaviour among children in a rural community in Malaysia
title_sort recurrent abdominal pain and consulting behaviour among children in a rural community in malaysia
topic R Medicine
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/3232/1/Recurrent_abdominal_pain_and_consulting_behaviour_among_children_in_a_rural_community_in_Malaysia.pdf
http://eprints.um.edu.my/3232/
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1590-8658(01)80069-4
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/