Health related quality of life of a tertiary referral center population with urinary incontinence using the DCGM-10 questionnaire

Abstract

Purpose: We evaluated health related quality of life of pediatric patients with nonneurogenic urinary incontinence and determined potential influencing factors. Also, health related quality of life results in our sample were compared to those of other chronic childhood health conditions.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was done at 3 tertiary referral centers for childhood urinary incontinence. From July 2007 to April 2008 we consecutively evaluated 65 boys and 38 girls with a mean +/- SD age of 9.3 +/- 2.2 years (range 6 to 18) and their parents. Of the patients 12 had monosymptomatic enuresis, 79 had nonmonosymptomatic enuresis and 12 had isolated daytime incontinence. To evaluate participants we used the self-reported and proxy versions of the 10-item DISABKIDS chronic generic measure, short version, a health related quality of life questionnaire with cross-cultural validity.

Results: Mean questionnaire total scores were 43.2 and 42.8 for the self-reported and proxy versions, respectively, which showed significant correlation (r = 0.628). Age, sex, urinary incontinence type and severity, fecal incontinence and constipation had no significant association with questionnaire total scores (each p >0.05). Compared to questionnaire results in a reference sample of children with chronic health conditions average scores in our sample did not differ significantly from those in pediatric patients with asthma, arthritis, atopic dermatitis, cystic fibrosis, diabetes or epilepsy on the self-reported version, and asthma, atopic dermatitis, cystic fibrosis or epilepsy in the proxy version.

Conclusions: Health related quality of life of children and adolescents with urinary incontinence appears to be comparable to that in pediatric patients with other chronic conditions, eg asthma or epilepsy.