Epidemiological investigation and risk factor analysis of infant dyschezia in Xi′an / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of infant dyschezia in Xi′an city based on the Rome Ⅳ Criteria for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Infants/Toddlers, and to analyze the related risk factors so as to provide epidemiological basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods:It was a cross-sectional survey conducted in the child health department of community health service center or hospital in Xi′an from October 2020 to October 2021 using the multi-stage cluster random sampling method.Infants aged 0-12 months were enrolled and their caregivers were interviewed by face-to-face electronic questionnaire.The prevalence and influencing factors of defecation difficulty in infants aged 0-9 months were analyzed according to the Rome Ⅳ Criteria for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Infants/Toddlers.The prevalence of dyschezia in infants aged over 9 months was explored as well.The counting data were compared by Chi- square test.Univariable and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were performed to identify risk factors for dyschezia. Results:A total of 1 446 infants were collected, including 735 boys (50.8%) and 711 girls (49.2%), with an average age of (5.94±3.27) months.The prevalence of dyschezia aged 0-9 months in Xi′an was 3.46% (42/1 215), which gradually decreased with the increased age.Infants with dyschezia could defecate 2-3 times a day, or once a few days.Family history of defecation disorders ( OR=3.785, 95% CI: 1.912-7.494) was the risk factor for infant dyschezia, while complementary food ( OR=0.193, 95% CI: 0.075-0.495) was the protective factor for infant dyschezia ( P<0.05). Breastfeeding ( OR=8.126, 95% CI: 2.258-29.236) was the risk factor for dyschezia in infants who defecated less frequently ( P<0.05). Only 2 cases of 10-month-old infants had defecation-like symptoms, manifested as crying for a long time before defecation. Conclusions:The prevalence of dyschezia in infants aged 0-9 months in Xi′an is 3.46%.Dyschezia infants may also have a lower frequency of defecation.Timely addition of complementary food is beneficial to alleviate infant dyschezia, while infant who defecated less frequently are more likely to have dyschezia while breastfeeding.