The Relationship Between Functional Constipation with Short Stature

Background : Constipation is the common gastrointestinal problem in children. The prevalence of childhood constipation in the world varied from 0.7% to 29.6%. Growth and development are the important aspects for children’s health. One of the growth’s problem in children is short stature. Functional constipation can affect the nutritional and growth status because of its complex etiology, including biological and psychological factors. Objective : This study aimed to determine the relationship between functional constipation with short stature. Material and Methods : The cross sectional study was conducted on 134 students of 054870 Tanjung Jati Elementary School, Binjai sub-District, Langkat District in June 2019. Subjects were children between six until twelve years old who met the inclusion and exclusion criterias. Interview was carried out to establish the diagnosis of functional constipation. Short stature was determined based on anthropometric measurements. Result : From 134 samples, there were 10 subjects suffering from functional constipation experiencing short stature and 26 subjects suffering from functional constipation did not experience short stature. Conclusion : There is no significant relationship between functional constipation and short stature (p=0.66)