abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders based on rome iii criteria in a pediatric gastroenterology clinic

background: functional gastrointestinal disorders (fgids) entail several distinct conditions that collectively account for a sizeable proportion of patients complaining of abdominal pain. physicians' awareness is fundamental to avoid unnecessary evaluations and to alleviate stress-related problems. this study aimed to assess the relative frequencies of fgids and related categories in a selected iranian population.   methods: we conducted this cross-sectional study in a gastroenterology clinic of a tertiary care pediatric hospital in iran. children and adolescents between the age of 4 and 18 years referred to the clinic from october 2011 to february 2013 were enrolled if they were diagnosed with fgid according to the rome iii criteria. a structured questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic characteristics, pain location, duration and frequency, associated symptoms, and pertinent family history. we used descriptive analyses to show mean (±sd) and relative frequencies of categories of fgids. results: we diagnosed 183 (114 female) with fgids out of 1307 children and adolescents who were visited in the clinic. there was history of psychiatric disorders in 42 (22.9%) participants, and migraine headaches and gastrointestinal disorders were at least in one of the parents in 21 (11.5%) and 64 (34.9%) participants, respectively. we defined 84 (46%) patients under irritable bowel syndrome (ibs) category, 38 (21%) under abdominal migraine, 26 (14%) under functional abdominal pain, 21 (11%) under functional dyspepsia, and 7 (4%) under functional abdominal pain syndrome. seven children (4%) had no defining feature for fgid categories and therefore labeled as unclassified.  conclusion: fgid was a prevalent diagnosis among children and adolescents with abdominal pain. ibs was the largest category. only a minority were unclassifiable under the rome iii criteria, indicating improved differentiation characteristics of rome iii criteria compared to the rome ii version.