Depressive symptoms in children with chronic gastrointestinal disorders

BACKGROUND: Children with chronic illness may have depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms among children attending a pediatric gastroenterology outpatient clinic in Malaysia, and whether it differed by age, gender and diagnosis.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study, with data collected over a 16 month period (April 2010-July 2011). Patients aged 7-17 years on follow up at the pediatric gastroenterology clinic at University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, were recruited consecutively. They were classified into high, average and low scores based on responses to questions in the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; high, T-score >55; average, T-score 45-55; low, T-score <45). Children with high scores were considered to have depressive symptoms.
RESULTS: The response rate was 93%. One hundred children (44 boys; 56 girls) were studied. Major diagnoses were: functional abdominal pain (n = 22), inflammatory bowel disease (n = 26), biliary atresia (n = 17) and miscellaneous gastrointestinal conditions (n = 35). The overall prevalence of high CDI for depressive symptoms was 27.0%, while 43.0% and 30.0% had average and low scores, respectively. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of high scores among children with different diagnoses.
CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms were common among children attending a pediatric gastroenterology clinic. It is important to recognize symptoms of depression in children with gastrointestinal disorders.
KEYWORDS: Children's Depression Inventory; depression; gastrointestinal disorders; outpatient; pediatric

Study site: Pediatric gastroenterology clinic, University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC)