It sounds strange to relate the child's constipation to his behavior, but according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, constipated children may have behavior problems.
The study, conducted in Holland with 133 children between 4 and 18 years, found that 36% of constipated children suffer from some type of emotional and behavioral disorder.
Functional constipation is the decrease in the frequency of bowel movements (more than three days in a row without evacuation) or making very hard bowel movements (a soft stool, even if it occurs once a week, is not considered constipation).
Some research had already suggested that children with difficulty in bowel movements suffered certain alterations in their behavior, but without specifying whether behavioral problems were caused by constipation or vice versa.
The current study wanted to investigate more about the behavior of constipated children and found a prevalence of behavioral problems 3 to 4 times higher than in children who went to the bathroom normally. They presented oppositional, challenging, hyperactivity or antisocial behavior behaviors, but showed no symptoms of depression or anxiety. In addition, the longer the constipation lasted, the greater the risk of suffering from these disorders.
Surely it will be interesting for some parents of children with constipation to know this supposed relationship between the difficulty to evacuate and the alterations of behavior. And I say supposed because it should be noted that the study has its limitations as the number of children who participated is not so significant and that the behaviors were evaluated through questionnaires given to parents, not interviews.
In any case, research will continue to have a stronger conclusion on the subject.
