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Quality of life in neurologically healthy children with urinary incontinence
Author(s) -
GLADH GUNILLA,
ELDH MONICA,
MATTSSON SVEN
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1080/08035250600752458
Subject(s) - medicine , urinary incontinence , quality of life (healthcare) , physical therapy , urine , urinary system , pediatrics , confidence interval , urology , nursing
Aim : To bring forward the arguments for active treatment of urine incontinence in otherwise healthy children, a quality‐of‐life (QoL) study was performed. Subjects and methods : A self‐rating QoL questionnaire, child‐adjusted and validated, was completed by 120 neurologically healthy children, aged 6–16 y, with urinary incontinence. Another 239 age‐matched children made up a control group. The two groups were compared both totally and in age‐related subgroups (6–8, 9–12, >12 y) concerning the index for all questions, for universal parts (without questions dealing with incontinence) as well as for specific key domains. Results : The patient group had a significantly lower index than the control group both with and without items related to incontinence ( p <0.0001). Social situation, self‐esteem and self‐confidence were most influenced, particularly in the youngest children. Thirty‐one children (13%) of the control group reported incontinence and did not score their QoL as good as their continent peers but better than the study patients. Conclusion : From the quality‐of‐life aspects, the study supports active treatment of urinary incontinence in children already at younger ages.