Quality of life among Indian paediatric patients suffering from constipation: An evaluative study.

Paediatric functional constipation is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder that significantly impairs health-related quality of life (HRQoL), yet its psychosocial and school-related impact remains under-recognized in routine clinical assessment. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the health-related quality of living (HRQoL) in children with functional constipation by using verified child and parent-reported tools and compared results to healthy controls that were age-matched. A cross-sectional, clinic-based sample was analyzed using standard scoring methods and inferential statistical data to compare groups along with severity and intensity gradients. Constipation- related children showed significant lower total HRQoL and psychosocial scores as well as greater symptom burden scores than controls and had the lowest HRQoL being observed in those who suffer from frequent painful defecation as well as fecal incontinence. Thus, we show the importance of routine HRQoL assessments in conjunction with symptom evaluation to provide a comprehensive treatment plan and monitor the response to behavioral and pharmacologic treatments.