Functional constipation symptoms and complementary feeding methods: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract

IntroductionThe aim of the study was to investigate the impact of different complementary feeding methods on the prevalence of functional constipation symptoms in infants at 12 months of age. Material and methodsRandomized clinical trial in mother–infant dyads that underwent the intervention at 5.5 months post birth, randomly allocated to one of three complementary food introduction methods: PLW (parent-led weaning), Baby-led Introduction to SolidS (BLISS) and a mixed approach. The symptoms of constipation were assessed at 12 months with an online questionnaire based on the Rome IV diagnostic criteria and adapted to our sample. The data were summarised as absolute frequencies and percentages and compared by means of the χ2 test. The project was approved by the ethics committee of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre under number 2019-0230. ResultsWe analysed data corresponding to 135 infants, 45 allocated to PLW, 48 to BLISS and 42 to the mixed approach. The prevalence of constipation symptoms was 49.6% in the overall sample (n = 67), 60% (n = 27) in the PLW group, 47.9% (n = 23) in the BLISS group and 40.5% (n = 17) in the mixed approach group. We found no association between functional constipation symptoms and the method used to introduce complementary foods (P = .183). ConclusionsThe prevalence of functional constipation symptoms was high in the study population. The presence of constipation symptoms was not associated with the complementary feeding approach.