Medical Bulletin 07/ March/ 2025 - Video

Children who frequently miss school because of abdominal complaints are far more likely to be suffering from disorders of the gut-brain axis such as irritable bowel syndrome than diseases that can be detected with medical tests, new UVA Health Children’s research has found. The discovery could improve care for children with these common GI disorders and might spare them from a barrage of unproductive tests.

Further, children who had been homebound for the entire month were nearly eight times more likely to be suffering from a functional GI disorder, the researchers found

As every parent knows, stomach and digestive problems are common among school-age children. This can be from a short-term illness, such as a stomach virus, but in the vast majority of persistent cases, the cause is something else. These chronic cases of abdominal pain and constipation account for up to 38% of pediatrician visits, and 95% of those cases are not the result of a gastrointestinal disease and are due to a functional GI disorder.

We suspect that one of the biggest reasons children with functional gastrointestinal disorders are more likely to miss lots of school is because of what is often a long delay in making a definitive diagnosis,” said Borowitz, a pediatric gastroenterologist with UVA Health Children’s Department of Pediatrics. “The longer the child goes without an explanation of why they are having symptoms and what can be done to lessen those symptoms, the more anxious, fearful and frustrated the child and the family become. In general, the quicker we can identify what is going on and begin treatment, the better the outcome.”

These ambiguous diagnoses can be worrisome for both parent and child and can contribute to school absenteeism, Borowitz and Tersteeg note in a paper in the medical journal Frontiers in Pediatrics. Further, delays in getting these children a specific diagnosis can reduce the effectiveness of treatment for their conditions.

Ultimately, the researchers found that 82% of children who had missed more than three days of school in the prior month went on to be diagnosed with a functional GI disorder.

Of the 408 children found to have functional disorders, the most common diagnoses were functional constipation (36%), functional abdominal pain (35%), and irritable bowel (31%). More than 220 of the children were found to have more than one disorder, but their absenteeism rates were no higher than children who had only one disorder.

The researchers say their findings suggest doctors may find it useful to ask about school absenteeism to help them more quickly identify children who may be suffering from functional GI disorders. This could help speed a diagnosis and begin treatment more quickly, improving the children’s outcomes.

Ref: Tersteeg S M, Borowitz S M. School absenteeism as a predictor of functional gastrointestinal disorders in children, Front. Pediatr. , 12 December 2024: Volume 12 - 2024 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2024.1503783

Men’s semen quality is associated with how long they live according to a study of nearly 80,000 men, which is published in Human Reproduction, one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals.

The study followed the men for up to 50 years and found that those with a total number of motile sperm (sperm that can move or ‘swim’) of more than 120 million could expect to live two to three years longer than men with a total motile sperm count of between 0 and 5 million.

The research was led by Dr Lærke Priskorn, a senior researcher, and Dr Niels Jørgensen, chief andrologist who analysed data from 78,284 men who had their semen quality assessed. Assessment of semen quality included semen volume, sperm concentration, and the proportion of sperm that were motile and a normal shape.

Dr Priskorn said: “Previous research has suggested that male infertility and lower semen quality could be associated with mortality. We conducted this study to test the hypothesis and at the same time get an absolute estimate of how much semen quality predicts a man’s lifespan and to understand whether diagnosed diseases prior to semen quality assessment might explain some of the reported association.

“We calculated the men’s life expectancy according to their semen quality and found that men with the best quality could expect to live two to three years longer, on average, than men with the lowest semen quality. In absolute terms, men with a total motile count of more than 120 million lived 2.7 years longer than men with a total motile count of between 0 and 5 million. The lower the semen quality, the lower the life expectancy. This association was not explained by any diseases in the ten years before semen quality assessment or the men’s educational level.”

The researchers suggest that poor semen quality may be an indicator of other, underlying factors that affect both fertility and overall health. This might have the potential for detecting health problems at the time men have their semen quality investigated.

Ref: L Priskorn, R Lindahl-Jacobsen, T K Jensen, S A Holmboe, L S Hansen, M Kriegbaum, B S Lind, V Siersma, C L Andersen, N Jørgensen, Semen quality and lifespan: a study of 78 284 men followed for up to 50 years, Human Reproduction, 2025;, deaf023, https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deaf023

The global number of cases of osteoarthritis, as well the disability associated with the condition, have risen by more than 130% over the past 3 decades among women who have gone through the menopause, indicates a data analysis published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.

During this period, East Asia and high income Asia Pacific countries experienced the fastest growth in the condition while excess weight accounted for 20% of the total years lived with the resulting disability, the analysis indicates. Osteoarthritis is primarily characterised by the deterioration and damage of joint cartilage, accompanied by bony remodelling, joint dysfunction, and chronic pain.

To better understand the global impact of osteoarthritis in this group, the researchers analysed data from 204 countries and territories for the prevalence, severity, and deaths attributable to 371 diseases. The researchers focused in particular on rates of new and existing cases of knee, hip, hand, and ‘other’ osteoarthritis and years of healthy life lost (DALYs) among postmenopausal women, aged 55 and above.

The menopause signals a decline in oestrogen levels, which not only affects skeletal health, but is also directly linked to the function and stability of the joint system, explain the researchers.

The results showed that Knee OA carried the heaviest burden, while hip OA bore the least. Higher Socio-demographic Index regions had higher burden, and inequalities linked to SDI among countries had intensified over time. East Asia and high-income Asia Pacific experienced the most substantial increments in OA burden. High BMI significantly influences the burden of OA, especially in countries within high, high-middle, and middle SDI, where disability-adjusted life-years attributed to high BMI exceed 20%.

Therefore, the researchers concluded that the burden of OA among postmenopausal women continues to escalate, highlighting its significant impact on the global health of postmenopausal women. Necessarily, effective monitoring and management of risk factors, targeted lifestyle adjustments for BMI, and policy interventions accounting for demographic disparities are required to ease OA in postmenopausal women.

Ref: Xu H, Xiao W, et al. Global burden of osteoarthritis among postmenopausal women in 204 countries and territories: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021: BMJ Global Health 2025;10:e017198.