Epidemiology of Childhood Constipation: A Systematic Review

A systematic review of the published literature was performed to assess the prevalence, incidence, natural history, and comorbid conditions of functional constipation in children.

Articles were identified through electronic searches in Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Library, Cinhal and PsychInfo databases. Study selection criteria included: (1) epidemiology studies of general population, (2) on the prevalence of constipation without obvious organic etiology, (3) in children from 0 to 18 yr old, and (4) published in English and full manuscript form.