Is colic a gastrointestinal disorder?

Curr Opin Pediatr. 2002 Oct;14(5):588-92. doi: 10.1097/00008480-200210000-00005.

Abstract

Infantile colic is a distinct, although poorly defined, clinical entity. Whereas a general consensus regarding its cause is lacking, it is most likely multifactorial in genesis. Possible causative factors can be divided into two main groups: gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal. Food protein hypersensitivity or allergy is the leading contender in the former group, and disturbances in parental or maternal-child interactions in the latter. In all likelihood, the various factors act in tandem, leading to disturbances in infant gastrointestinal motility that manifests clinically as colic.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Colic / etiology*
  • Colic / physiopathology
  • Gastrointestinal Diseases / complications*
  • Gastrointestinal Diseases / physiopathology
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Risk Factors