Browsing by Author "Jayawickrama, N."

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Abnormal personality traits in children with aerophagia
(Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2015) Devanarayana, N.M.; Jayawickrama, N.; Gulegoda, I.C.; Rajindrajith, S.
OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study is to study the personality types in children with aerophagia. METHODS: A cross sectional survey was conducted in 8 randomly selected schools in 4 randomly selected provinces Sri Lanka. From each school, all children aged 13-18 years were selected after obtaining written consent from parents, school administration and provincial education office. Assent was obtained from all children recruited. Date were collected using a self-administered questionnaire administered under examination setting to ensure confidentiality and privacy. Questionnaire contained previously translated and validated Rome III questionnaire for functional gastrointestinal diseases (self-administered form for children above 10 years) and childhood personality assessment questionnaire. Trained research assistants were present during filling the questionnaire to provide assistance and to verify doubts. Aerophagia was defined using the Rome III criteria. Severities of individual symptoms were recorded in 100 mm visual analogue scale. RESULTS: A total of 1069 questionnaires were distributed and all of them were returned and included in analysis [males 508 (47.5%), mean age 15.3 years, SD 1.8 years years]. One hundred and thirty six (12.7%) fulfilled Rome III criteria for aerophagia and 933 children without aerophagia were considered as controls. Nineteen (13.8%) children with aerophagia and 71 (7.6%) controls had personality scores above the international cut-off value (105) for abnormal personality (p = 0.01). Children with aerophagia had significantly higher scores for different personality traits than controls; including hostility and aggression (13.2 vs. 12.2 in controls, p = 0.006), negative self-esteem (11.0 vs. 9.9, p < 0.0001), negative self-adequacy (10.6 vs. 9.6, p = 0.001), emotional unresponsiveness (10.5 vs. 9.6, p < 0.0001), emotional instability (16.9 vs. 15.7, p < 0.001), negative world view (10.9 vs. 10.1, p = 0.02) and total personality score (92.1 vs. 87.7, p = 001). In children with aerophagia, scores obtained for severity of bloating correlated with scores obtained for hostility and aggression (r = 0.22, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Children with aerophagia has abnormal personality traits and this fact may at least partly responsible for development and perpetuation of symptoms in them.
Aerophagia in adolescents is associated with exposure to adverse life events and psychological maladjustment
(Wiley Blackwell Scientific Publications, 2018) Rajindrajith, S.; Hettige, S.; Gulegoda, I.; Jayawickrama, N.; de Silva, S.C.; Samarakoon, H.K.; de Silva, R.L.; Abeyagunawardena, S.; Devanarayana, N.M.
BACKGROUND: Aerophagia is a common childhood functional gastrointestinal disorder. We studied the association between adverse life events (ALEs), psychological maladjustment, somatization, and aerophagia (AP) in adolescents. We also assessed the impact of AP on their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 2500 subjects of 13-18 years in 8 randomly selected schools in Sri Lanka. Translated, validated, and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Aerophagia was diagnosed using Rome III criteria. KEY RESULTS: A total of 2453 questionnaires were analyzed (males 1200 [48.9%], mean age 14.8 years, SD 1.6 years). Of them, 371 adolescents had AP (15.1%). Aerophagia was associated with exposure to physical abuse (20.4% vs. 12.7% in controls, P < .0001), emotional abuse (20.3% vs. 8.2% in controls, P < .0001), and other ALEs (22% vs. 10.2% in controls, P < .001). One hundred and ninety (51.2%) adolescents with AP and 775 (37.2%) controls had a personality score above the international cutoff value of 105, indicating psychological maladjustment (odds ratio 1.77, 95% confidence interval 1.42-2.21, P < .0001). Those with AP had higher somatization (16.4 vs. 8.9) and lower overall HRQoL scores (77.0 vs. 85.1, P < .0001). HRQoL scores of adolescents with AP were lower in all domains, namely, physical (80.6 vs. 86.9), emotional (69.1 vs. 80.3), social (83.8 vs. 90.5), and school (72.6 vs. 82.5) functioning (P < .0001).CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES: Aerophagia was associated with exposure to ALEs and psychological maladjustment. Affected teenagers suffer from more somatic symptoms and has a poor HRQoL
Behavioral and emotional problems in adolescents with constipation and their association with quality of life
(Public Library of Science, 2020) Rajindrajith, S.; Ranathunga, N.; Jayawickrama, N.; van Dijk, M.; Benninga, M.A.; Devanarayana, N.M.
Objectives: To assess behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents with functional constipation and their relationship with psychological maladjustment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Design: A school-based cross-sectional survey conducted in 8 randomly selected schools from 4 randomly selected districts in Sri Lanka. A previously validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Behavioral and emotional problems were assessed using the Sinhala version of the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL-S/4-18). Constipation was diagnosed by applying the Rome III criteria. Results: A total of 1000 questionnaires were distributed, and 913 completed questionnaires were included in the analysis. Sixty adolescents (6.5%) had functional constipation. Scores obtained for isolated psychological problems such as withdrawal (3.1 [3.1] vs. 1.9 [2.4], p<0.001), somatic complaints (3.2 [2.8] vs. 2.3 [2.5], p<0.05) anxiety/depression (5.8 [2.5] vs. 3.9 [3.6], p<0.001), social problems (3.0 [2.7] vs. 2.2 [1.9] p<0.001) and attention problems (5.4 [4.1] vs. 3.9 [3.4], p<0.001), and broadband scale of internalization (12.1 [8.4] vs. 8.3 [7.2], p<0.05) and mean total CBCL-S/4-18 score (29.4 [19.5] vs. 23.2 [17.0], p<0.001) were higher in adolescents with functional constipation. Clinical characteristics, socio-demographic and family factors and psychological maladjustment had no relationship with externalization, internalization and total CBCL-S/4-18 score. Internalization (-0.49, p<0.0001), externalization (-0.30, p<0.05), and total CBCL-S/4-18 (-0.44, p<0.001) scores had a negative impact on HRQoL of adolescents with functional constipation. Conclusions: Adolescents with functional constipation are suffering from significant behavioral and emotional problems. These problems negatively affect their HRQoL.