Childhood Constipation Carries Big Price Tag
(HealthDay News)Each year in the United States, treatment of childhood constipation costs about $4 billion, about the same as for asthma and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study by researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
They analyzed 2003-04 data on children younger than 18 who were diagnosed with constipation or prescribed a laxative, and found that children with constipation had $3.9 billion more in health-care costs per year than those without constipation. The findings are scheduled for publication early next year in the Journal of Pediatrics.
Even with the high prevalence of constipation in children and its associated costs, the condition hasn't received much attention in public health campaigns, the researchers noted.
"Despite being considered by many a relatively benign condition, childhood constipation has been shown to be associated with a significantly decreased quality of life," study author Dr. Carlo Di Lorenzo, chief of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Nationwide Children's, said in a hospital news release.
Add A New Comment
Add A New CommentComments
There are no comments yet. Be the first to get the conversation started.