EDITORIAL Functional constipation in children ,

Childhood constipation is one of the most frequent functional gastrointestinal disorders, with a mean prevalence of 14%.1 In North and South America, the prevalence in infants to adolescents ranges between 10% and 23%, while for European children, figures between 0.7% and 12% are reported.2 In Asia, the prevalence in children and adolescents is estimated to be between 0.5% and 29.6%.2 While constipation occurs in all continents, currently there is a lack of prevalence data in children from Africa and Oceania. Many factors contribute to the large variation in the reported prevalence of constipation in children. The different criteria used for the definition of functional constipation in studies hinders the comparison between prevalence estimates. The pathophysiology of functional constipation in children remains unclear, but is multifactorial. Recently, the new Rome IV criteria have been released.3 The most common mechanism for functional constipation is withholding behavior. In young children, it often starts after a painfulfrightening bowel movement, while in older children it is due