Quality of life in neurologically healthy children with urinary incontinence

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.