Epidemiology of aerophagia in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Aerophagia is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder among children. The disease leads to symptoms related to air in the intestine leading to burping, abdominal distension, and excessive flatus. We aimed to perform a systematic review and a meta-analysis to assess the epidemiology of aerophagia in children. METHODS: We conducted a thorough electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Web of Science) search for all epidemiological surveys conducted in children on aerophagia. All selected studies were assessed for their scientific quality and the extracted data were pooled to create a pooled prevalence of aerophagia. RESULTS: The initial search identified 76 titles. After screening and in depth reviewing, 19 studies representing data from 21 countries with 40129 children and adolescents were included in the meta-analysis. All studies have used standard Rome definitions to diagnose aerophagia. The pooled prevalence of aerophagia was 3.66% (95% Confidence interval 2.44–5.12). There was significant heterogeneity between studies [I(2) 98.06% with 95% Confidence interval 97.70–98.37). There was no gender difference in prevalence of aerophagia in children. The pooled prevalence of aerophagia was highest in Asia (5.13%) compared to other geographical regions. CONCLUSION: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we found aerophagia has a significant prevalence across the world.