ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the rationale, limitations, and process for developing a symptom-based classification for the functional gastrointestinal disorders. It describes the major symptom subgroups of these, disorders based on the newly established multinational consensus criteria. The chapter also reviews their epidemiology, sociodemographic features, and health impact It is anticipated that the use of these criteria will improve upon previous research efforts and clinical care by permitting the proper selection of patient groups for pathophysiological investigation and treatment. The rationale for a diagnostic classification system is based on the premise that each symptom grouping “breeds true.” In effect, patients fulfilling criteria for a diagnosis are presumed to be more similar to one another in their underlying pathophysiology and treatments than to those having other diagnoses.
