Anxiety and Somatic Complaints in Children with Recurrent Abdominal Pain and Anxiety Disorders

ObjectiveTo compare anxiety symptoms and disorders in children and adolescents with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP), anxiety disorders, and healthy control children.MethodsTwenty-one children with RAP (nine males, mean age 11.05) were compared to 21 children with anxiety disorders (11 males, mean age 12.29), and 21 children without pain or anxiety (nine males, mean age 11.57) using diagnostic interviews and continuous measures of anxiety and other internalizing symptoms.ResultsSixty-seven percent of children with RAP met criteria for an anxiety disorder. Children with RAP were higher than well children but not significantly different from children with anxiety on total internalizing and anxiety symptoms.ConclusionsRAP and anxiety are closely related. Further understanding between these disorders is essential to understanding the development and progression of RAP, and to inform the prevention and treatment of the disorder.