Intergenerational Transmission of Gastrointestinal Illness Behavior

• DOI: 10.1111/j.1572-0241.2000.01766.x
• Publication Date: 2004-03-30T09:44:20Z
• Authors: Rona L Levy; William E Whitehead; Michael R Von Korff; Andrew D Feld
• Keywords: Gastrointestinal disorder; Outpatient clinic

OBJECTIVE: Previous research, based on retrospective reporting, suggests that parental reinforcement and modeling may be important mechanisms in the development of gastrointestinal illness behavior children adults. The aim this study was to determine relationship between parents, form health care use for irritable bowel symptoms, their children, without relying recall. METHODS: A comparison two matched groups made. Groups included 631 parents who were diagnosed with syndrome during 1 calendar yr 646 by age, gender, number family did not receive an IBS diagnosis same yr. Health costs over a 3-yr period all collected from database large maintenance organization evaluated. RESULTS: Case had significantly more ambulatory visits causes (mean 12.26 vs 9.81, p = 0.0001) symptoms (0.35 0.18, 0.0001). Outpatient also higher case than control ($1979 vs$1546, Controlling total excluding visits, alter findings. Gender parent related children's visits. CONCLUSION: This extends previous research showing specific types learned through modeling.