SynthesisJournal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition2025
Prevalence of functional defecation disorders in European children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Global Prevalence of Functional Constipation Across All Age Groups According to Rome II-IV Criteria, 1999-2025: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Clinical and translational gastroenterology · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence of functional defecation disorders in European children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Psychological and Psychiatric Issues in Functional Constipation, Fecal Incontinence and Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction-A Revised and Updated Document of the International Children's Continence Society (ICCS).Neurourology and urodynamics · 2026Review
- Evaluating the role of the Bristol stool chart in diagnosing functional constipation in pediatric populations.World journal of clinical pediatrics · 2026Article
- Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Shenqu Xiaoshi Oral Liquid for Functional Constipation in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Usefulness of ultrasound in diagnosing constipation in children: a narrative review.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Review
- Prevalence and Antibiotic Resistance Pattern ofInfection and drug resistance · 2026Article
- Infant Dyschezia Is Associated With Increased Risk of Functional Constipation in Childhood: A Case-Control Study.International journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Global burden of paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction, 1990-2021: a GBD 2021 analysis.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Validity and reliability of the Thai "Rome IV diagnostic questionnaires" for functional gastrointestinal disorders in neonates and toddlers.World journal of clinical cases · 2025Article
- Current Treatment Options for Children with Functional Constipation-What Is in the Pipeline?Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Do Most Children with Functional Constipation Meet the Commonly Used Clinical Trial Endpoints?Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- [Prevalence of Infant Dyschezia: Experience of the Working Group on Disorders of the Gut-Brain Interaction of the Latin American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (LASPGHAN)].Acta gastroenterologica LatinoamericanaArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesFunctional defecation disorders (FDDs) are common among children worldwide. The prevalence of these disorders has not been clearly described in Europe. This study performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of FDD in European children and assessed geographical, age, and sex distribution and associated factors.
methodsPubMed, Embase, Psycinfo, Cochrane Library, and Cinahl were searched from 1999 to July 2023. Included studies were (1) prospective or cross-sectional studies of European population-based samples; (2) reporting the prevalence of infant dyschezia (ID) according to Rome II, III, or IV criteria or functional constipation (FC) or functional non-retentive fecal incontinence (FNRFI) according to Rome III or IV criteria; (3) aged 0-18 years; and (4) published in English, Dutch or Spanish. PRISMA guidelines for extracting data and assessing data quality were followed.
resultsTwenty-eight studies were included. Pooled prevalence was 6.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.1%-11.9%) for ID in infants 0-12 months (9 studies, n = 5611), 8.17% (95% CI: 6.33%-10.22%) for FC in children <4 years (25 studies, n = 35,189), 11.39% (95% CI: 9.34%-14.11%) for FC in children 4-18 years, and 0.24% (95% CI: 0.07%-0.49%) for FNRFI in children 4-18 years (7 studies, n = 16,873). No sex predominance was found for FC. FC prevalence did not differ significantly when diagnosed according to Rome III versus IV. FC prevalence differed between countries, with greatest rates in Italy, Germany, and Spain. No meta-analysis could be performed on other factors associated with FDD.
conclusionsFDD is common in European children. Future longitudinal studies are needed to provide better insight into associated factors in pathogenesis.
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