ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Gastroenterology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1624242
Pathophysiological Mechanisms of Functional Dyspepsia: A Narrative Review
Provisionally accepted
- Honghui Hospital Affiliated to Medicine College of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
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Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common gastrointestinal disorder with a global prevalence of about 40%. Its pathogenesis is multifactorial and not fully understood, which complicates diagnosis and treatment. Advances in research have improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying FD, offering opportunities to refine diagnosis and therapy. Summary: FD presents with upper abdominal discomfort, bloating, belching, and nausea, in the absence of structural disease. Its heterogeneous pathogenesis involves impaired gastric accommodation, delayed gastric emptying, mucosal immune activation, microbiota imbalance, altered neuroendocrine and sensory processing, and psychosocial influences. While treatment options have expanded, challenges remain due to overlapping symptoms and variability among patients. Key Messages: FD is associated with abnormalities in gastrointestinal motility, immune responses, brain–gut interactions, and psychosocial factors. Recognizing its heterogeneity is crucial for developing individualized management strategies. Better characterization of patient subtypes may improve diagnostic accuracy, guide therapy, and ultimately enhance clinical outcomes.
Keywords: functional dyspepsia, Pathogenesis, Gastrointestinal dynamics, immune response, Psychosocial factors
Received: 07 May 2025; Accepted: 12 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Shi, Li, Wang, Xu, Zhang and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shuang Han, crosby_franks74b@mail.com
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