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Pediatric feeding disorders among children with parental history of feeding disorders: a distinct group of patients with unique characteristics

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Abstract

To investigate factors associated with pediatric feeding disorders (PFD) among children of parents that reported to have had feeding disorders during their own childhood compared to children with PFD with no history of parental PFD. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of children diagnosed with PFD according to the recent WHO-based definition. The demographic and clinical characteristics of children with PFD with a parental history of PFD were compared to those of children with a PFD with no history of parental PFD. Included were 231 children with PFD (median [interquartile range] age 10 months [5.5–29] at diagnosis, 58% boys) of whom 133 children had parents without PFD and 98 children had parents with PFD. Unexpectedly, children of parents without PFD had a higher rate of low birth weight (28% vs. 19%, respectively, p = 0.007), more delivery complications (10% vs. 2%, p = 0.006), more hospitalizations (33% vs. 17%, p = 0.004), more prescription medications (27% vs. 18%, p = 0.05), and a higher percent of gastrostomy tube use (6% vs. 0, p = 0.02). Moreover, more parents with PFD had academic background compared with parents without PFD (72% vs. 59%, p = 0.05). There were no significant group differences in sex, history of breastfeeding, parental marital status, or type of the child’s feeding disorder.

  Conclusion: PFD among children with a parental history of PFD comprise a distinct group of patients with unique characteristics and outcomes. Since parental feeding history may explain their child’s PFD in highly differing ways, such information may help in devising a specific family-based and multidisciplinary treatment plan for those children.

What is Known:

• Pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) is relatively common and its prevalence is increasing.

• Information on an association between parental PFD and their child’s feeding disorder is limited.

What is New:

• PFD among children with a parental history of PFD comprise a distinct group of patients with various characteristics and outcomes.

• The parents’ feeding history during childhood may provide important clues to their child’s PFD.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

BW:

Birth weight

C/S:

Cesarean section

DSM-V:

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

ICD-10:

International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision

IUGR:

Intrauterine growth retardation [IUGR]

LBW:

Low birth weight

IQR:

Interquartile range

PFD:

Pediatric feeding disorder

SEP:

Socioeconomic position

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Gastroenterology, Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital, Tel Aviv Medical Center, affiliated to the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Tut Galai, Nataly Kalamitzky, Kim Shemer, Dana L. Gal, Anat Yerushalmy-Feler, Shlomi Cohen & Hadar Moran-Lev

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital, Tel Aviv Medical Center, affiliated to the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Gal Friedman, Ronit Lubetzky & Hadar Moran-Lev

Authors
  1. Tut Galai
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  2. Gal Friedman
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  3. Nataly Kalamitzky
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  4. Kim Shemer
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  5. Dana L. Gal
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  6. Anat Yerushalmy-Feler
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  7. Ronit Lubetzky
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  8. Shlomi Cohen
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  9. Hadar Moran-Lev
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Contributions

HML and TG conceptualized and designed the study, drafted the initial manuscript, and reviewed and revised the manuscript. RL, SC, and AYF designed the data collection instruments, collected data, carried out the initial analyses, and reviewed and revised the manuscript. KS, NK, and DLG conceptualized and designed the study, coordinated and supervised data collection, and critically reviewed the manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hadar Moran-Lev.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study protocol was approved by the “Helsinki” institutional review board of the medical center (reference number - TLV-0590-20). Informed consent of the participants was waived by the Helsinki institutional review board of the medical center since the data retrieved from the medical records were anonymized to the researchers.

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Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Communicated by Peter de Winter.

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Galai, T., Friedman, G., Kalamitzky, N. et al. Pediatric feeding disorders among children with parental history of feeding disorders: a distinct group of patients with unique characteristics. Eur J Pediatr 182, 3671–3677 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-023-05038-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-023-05038-5

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