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Prevalence and Characteristics of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder in Pediatric Neurogastroenterology Patients.

Author
Abstract
:

Recent reports document avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) symptoms among 13-40% of adults presenting to neurogastroenterology clinics, but ARFID in pediatrics is understudied. We conducted a retrospective review of charts from 129 consecutive referrals (ages 6-18 years; 57% female) for pediatric neurogastroenterology examination, from January 2016 through December 2018. Eleven cases (8%) met the full criteria for ARFID by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition and 19 cases (15%) had clinically significant avoidant/ restrictive eating behaviors with insufficient information for a definitive ARFID diagnosis. Of patients with ARFID symptoms (n = 30), 20 (67%) cited fear of gastrointestinal symptoms as motivation for their avoidant/ restrictive eating. Compared to patients without ARFID symptoms, patients with ARFID symptoms were older (P  < .001), more likely to be female (51% vs 79%, P  = 0.014), and more frequently presented with eating/weight-related complaints (15% vs 33%, P  = 0.026). This pilot retrospective study showed ARFID symptoms present in 23% of pediatric neurogastroenterology patients; further research is needed to understand risk and maintenance factors of ARFID in the neurogastroenterology setting.

Year of Publication
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2022
Journal
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Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition
Volume
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74
Issue
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5
Number of Pages
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588-592
Date Published
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2022
ISSN Number
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0277-2116
URL
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https://doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000003369
DOI
:
10.1097/MPG.0000000000003369
Short Title
:
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr
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