Background: Functional gastrointestinal diseases (FGIDs) are an important yet highly under explored area among public health issues. FGIDs’ complex etiology makes them of interest along with their prevalence in children steadily increasing, especially in the developing world. We aimed to determine the burden FGIDs pose on school-going children, and to determine its association with the dietary intake patterns in Pakistani children. Methodology: The study included 385 school-children from public and private schools in Pakistan through multistage random sampling, from March to August 2022. We used the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and Rome IV Criteria for a comprehensive exploration of the issue. Associations between the FGIDs and dietary factors were analyzed using chi-square and Fischer’s exact tests in SPSS version 26.0. Results: Females constituted 77.4% (n = 298) of all respondents, while 44.9% (n = 173) of the total reported a family history of gastrointestinal diseases. FFQ analysis showed varying consumption frequencies for different food groups. Functional abdominal pain and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were the highest reported FGIDs with a prevalence of 38.7% (n = 149) and 24.9% (n = 96), respectively. Statistical associations were found between different FGIDs and gender, age, household income, family members, and dietary variables such as fruit, vegetable, beverage and pulse consumption. Conclusion: FGIDs were found to be associated with a number of socio-demographic and dietary factors which calls for small scale and large scale attention to the issue. Results from the current study and further studies may help develop guidelines to manage these disorders in Pakistan.

This study investigates the impact of urea adulteration in raw milk on milk quality, safety, and renal tissue integrity, addressing a significant public health concern, particularly in low-to-middle-income countries where over 76.6% of milk samples have compromised quality and 77.89% are adulterated. Raw milk samples were analyzed for quality parameters, adulterants, and the presence of synthetic by-products using FTIR. In vivo studies in mice were conducted to assess the histopathological effects of urea-adulterated milk on renal and liver tissues. Results revealed that urea adulteration leads to significant alterations in milk composition, including changes in fat content from 5.73% to 0.6% in boiled milk, solids-not-fat from 9.11% to 12.84%, protein from 3.61% to 5.28%, and lactose content from 3.81% to 5.57%, alongside the formation of synthetic compounds such as lactose monohydrate and polyvinyl stearate. Histological examination of mice kidneys exposed to urea-adulterated milk demonstrated morphological, inflammatory, degenerative, congestive, and necrotic changes. This study highlights the cellular-level damage induced by urea adulteration, emphasizing its potential to induce neoplastic changes in renal tissues and underscoring the need for stringent monitoring of milk quality to safeguard public health.