My tummy hurts!”
What causes this childhood complaint?

Parents who have faced the complaint “My tummy hurts!” may find out what that really means from a Baylor College of Medicine study.

“It's a common complaint, especially among kids who are 7 to 12 years old,” said Dr. Robert Shulman, a CNRC researcher and Baylor professor of pediatrics. “There seems to be no obvious cause for the pain, but we believe these childhood symptoms may carry over to adulthood.”

Shulman has begun a research study to determine what causes abdominal pain in children and to investigate whether there is a link between the childhood pain and irritable bowel syndrome in adults.

“It used to be thought that the pain wasn't real -- that it was something the child was imagining, but we know that is not the case,” he said. “But we still don't have all the answers on what is causing the pain.”

The abdominal pain experienced by children can be so severe that it affects the ability of some youngsters to participate in regular activities, while in others, it is handled easily.

“We will try to determine what causes some kids to have their lives turned upside down by this recurrent pain,” Shulman said. “And what allows some kids to cope easily with the symptoms.”

Shulman suspects that the “tummy ache” of childhood is actually a number of conditions and problems that come under that umbrella. Research in adults has shown that in some individuals a gastrointestinal infection may lead to chronic intestinal damage, resulting in recurring pain, he said.

“We hope that by understanding it better in children, we will eventually break this cycle,” Shulman said.