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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 14, 2016; 22(30): 6864-6875
Published online Aug 14, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i30.6864
Childhood constipation as an emerging public health problem
Shaman Rajindrajith, Niranga Manjuri Devanarayana, Bonaventure Jayasiri Crispus Perera, Marc Alexander Benninga
Shaman Rajindrajith, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Thalagolla Road, Ragama 11010, Sri Lanka
Niranga Manjuri Devanarayana, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Thalagolla Road, Ragama 11010, Sri Lanka
Bonaventure Jayasiri Crispus Perera, Consultant Paediatrician, Asiri Hospital, Kirula Road, Narahempita 10100, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Marc Alexander Benninga, Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Emma Children’s Hospital, Academic Medical Centre, Meibergdreef, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author contributions: Rajindrajith S developed the concept and the outline of the article; Rajindrajith S and Devanarayana NM drafted the initial manuscript; Crispus Perera BJ edited the drafted manuscript with a significant intellectual contribution; Benninga MA critically analysed the paper with significant intellectual contribution; and all authors are in agreement with the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Benninga MA is a consultant for Shire, Norgine, Astrazeneca and Sucampo; the other authors have no conflicts of interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Shaman Rajindrajith, MD, FRCPCH, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Thalagolla Road, Ragama 11010, Sri Lanka. shamanr0@lycos.com
Telephone: +94-112-957900 Fax: +94-112-958339
Received: March 16, 2016
Peer-review started: March 19, 2016
First decision: April 14, 2016
Revised: May 16, 2016
Accepted: June 13, 2016
Article in press: June 13, 2016
Published online: August 14, 2016
Processing time: 141 Days and 2.5 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Constipation is a common problem in children worldwide. Identified risk factors for constipation are equally distributed in both developed and developing countries. Constipation affects the quality of life of affected children and their parents. It also poses a challenge for existing healthcare systems by incurring significant expenditure. These factors indicate that childhood constipation is emerging as a significant public health problem. Attention to careful toilet training, encouraging correct dietary habits, and creating a safer environment for children would curtail the public health impact of functional constipation.