Abstract
BACKGROUND: Abdominal pain, gastrointestinal symptoms and pelvic pain are common complaints of young females seeking healthcare. These symptoms can co-exist and become recurrent, impacting on quality of life. AIM: This study investigated the relationships between abdominal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms at 17-years of age and pelvic pain bothersomeness (PPB) at 22-years of age in young females. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study utilising 17 and 22-year Gen2 female data of the Raine Study (n = 584). Abdominal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms at 17 years were: frequency, consistency and/or pain of bowel movements, bloating, nausea, vomiting, analgesia for cramps and laxative use in the preceding 3 months. At 22 years, PPB was determined by the Urogenital Distress Inventory Short Form (UDI-6). Additional health-related variables were analysed to understand the symptom patterns of participants. RESULTS: 17-year-old females, with abdominal pain and gastrointestinal data who answered the UDI-6 for PPB (n = 450); 347 (77%) were not bothered by PPB, 64 (14%) reported mild PPB and 39 (9%) reported moderate-severe PPB at 22-years (p = 0.168). Symptoms of varied stool consistency, vomiting, nausea and laxative use, but not isolated abdominal pain, at 17-years were significantly associated with PPB at 22-years. Co-variants of depression, anxiety, bullying, living with a partner, poor sleep and smoking showed increased prevalence with severity of PPB. CONCLUSION: Gastrointestinal symptoms in adolescence were associated with pelvic pain bothersomeness (PPB) in young adulthood. Early detection of abdomino-pelvic symptoms may be useful to allow early, targeted and multi-disciplinary management to optimise physical and mental health outcomes.