The evaluation of urinary incontinence in secondary school children and risk factors: An epidemiological study

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Pediatric Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (ICIQ-CLUTS): a Chinese validation study

BACKGROUND

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common in pediatric patients and significantly affect children's well-being and family-related quality of life. However, no validated Chinese assessment tool for LUTS exists. This study aimed to develop and validate a Chinese version of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Pediatric Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (ICIQ-CLUTS).

METHODS

The ICIQ-CLUTS was translated following the Beaton cross-cultural adaptation guidelines. A total of 192 children with and without LUTS and their parents were enrolled between June and October 2024. Psychometric evaluation was performed using multiple approaches. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient for internal consistency. Validity was assessed by expert content review and exploratory factor analysis. Clinical diagnoses were made using standardized assessment protocols including medical history, physical examination, and laboratory tests (urinalysis and uroflowmetry) based on the International Children's Continence Society (ICCS) criteria. Using these clinical diagnoses as the reference standard, the diagnostic accuracy was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

RESULTS

The study included 192 participants (70.8% male) divided into two age groups: 5-9 years (n = 139) and 10-14 years (n = 53). The Chinese ICIQ-CLUTS showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.718 for children's version; 0.706 for parents' version) and distinct factor structure. The diagnoses encompassed various LUTS manifestations including monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE), non-monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (NMNE), and overactive bladder (OAB). Both versions exhibited high diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.948 for children's version; 0.933 for parents' version), with superior performance observed in the 10-14-year age group (AUC = 0.963 and 0.960, respectively). The optimal cut-off points were 13.5 for both versions, with sensitivity of 0.90 and specificity of 0.86 for the children's version, and sensitivity of 0.89 and specificity of 0.85 for the parents' version.

CONCLUSION

The Chinese version of ICIQ-CLUTS shows good psychometric properties and diagnostic accuracy, making it a useful screening tool for pediatric LUTS in Chinese-speaking populations.

The genetics of incontinence: A scoping review

The genetic causes underlying incontinence in both children and adults have begun to be unravelled during the last decades. The aim of this scoping review is to synthesize current knowledge on the genetics of childhood and adult urinary and faecal incontinence, identify similarities between different incontinence subgroups, and identify knowledge gaps to aid future research. PRISMA-ScR was used, and 76 studies were included. Early epidemiological family and twin studies suggest high heritability of incontinence. Linkage studies provide evidence for the existence of rare genetic variants; however, these variants have not been identified. Later candidate gene association studies and recent genome-wide association studies provide the first preliminary evidence that common risk variants also play a role. The genetics of incontinence in children and adults has predominantly been studied separately, but this review identifies for the first time the endothelin system as a potential common pathophysiological pathway. Overall, these findings strengthen the hypothesis that genetic variants play a prominent role in the pathogenesis of incontinence. Future research should include hypothesis-free studies of rare and common variants in large well-characterized cohorts with incontinence. Studies should include different age groups and ethnicities and both sexes to fully reveal the genetics of incontinence.

[Noninvasive peripheral magnetic stimulation in the treatment of neurogenic urination disorders in children]

Neurogenic urination disorders in children are often clinically represented by urinary incontinence (UI). The prevalence of UI reaches 8.6%, but tends to decrease in frequency with age. One of the methods of non-drug therapy of UI is extracorporeal magnetic stimulation (ExMI) - a type of non-invasive peripheral magnetic stimulation, which is widely used in adult urological practice. However, the effectiveness of the method in children has not been studied.

OBJECTIVE

To study the effectiveness and safety of ExMI in the rehabilitation of children with neurogenic UI.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A prospective open randomized comparative clinical trial included 75 children (from 5 years to 16 years and 6 months) with neurogenic UI, who were divided by simple randomization into a main group (n=39), who received a standard rehabilitation and ExMI program for 21 days, and a comparison group (n=36), in which the standard rehabilitation program did not include the use of ExMI.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

A prospective open randomized comparative study revealed that the clinical effectiveness of the ExMI method in the complex rehabilitation of children with neurogenic UI is 94.8%, which is 25.4% higher than in the comparison group. After treatment, patients in the main group had a noticeable decrease in UI episodes, an increase in the micturition volume, and an improvement in the quality of life. Patients with various background neurological pathology responded to treatment, which indicates the common pathogenetic mechanisms of the development of LUTS in these conditions and the independence of the final effect from the basic diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

The use of the perineal ExMI method in children with neurogenic UI increases the effectiveness of rehabilitation and is a promising and safe direction of rehabilitation treatment.

Relationship between toilet training process and primary nocturnal enuresis in children and adolescents - A systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) affects the quality of life of children and families and may lead to low self-esteem and social isolation. The pathophysiology of enuresis is multifactorial. This systematic review aimed to investigate the relationship between toilet training (TT) and PNE in children and adolescents.

METHODS

We searched for articles about TT and PNE in MEDLINE (via PubMed), SCOPUS and WEB of SCIENCE databases. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) statement was used to guide the systematic review. Prior to the study, the review protocol was registered and approved in PROSPERO under the protocol CRD42021270976. The Risk of Bias in Non-Randomized Studies of Exposures (ROBINS-E) was used to analyze the biases of the select studies.

RESULTS

A total of 570 studies were initially selected. Of these, eight articles were included in this systematic review, with a total number of 5990 participants aged between 5 and 18 years diagnosed with PNE. Seven of the eight articles reported that prolonged use of disposable diapers for more than one-year, late initiation of the TT process or non-acceptance of the Assisted Infant TT or Elimination Communication approach, use of coercive approaches, and complete of TT after 24 months of age increase the risk of enuresis. Only one of the selected studies did not find an association between the start of TT after 24 months of age and the presence of isolated PNE. Three studies did not mention the approach used in the TT process.

CONCLUSION

Most of the articles reviewed showed that prolonged diaper use, delay in the start or completion of the TT and use of coercive approaches increase the risk of enuresis. On the other hand, one study showed no relationship between the start of TT after 24 months of age and the presence of isolated enuresis.

Relationship between primary monosymptomatic enuresis and process toilet training: a case-control

OBJECTIVE

Primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (PMNE) is a prevalent condition in childhood, and the pathophysiology is multifactorial. This study investigated the relationship between the toilet training process (TT) and PMNE in children and adolescents.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A case-control study was carried out from 2015 to 2020. The presence of PMNE was identified according to International Children's Continence Society criteria. A semi-structured questionnaire was applied to assess TT.

RESULTS

The study included 103 children and adolescents with PMNE and 269 participants with normal psychomotor development without PMNE (control group [CG]). Readiness signals were more remembered and less frequent in participants with PMNE (p=0.001) when compared to control group. No differences were found between the groups regarding the onset age of the daytime TT (p= 0.10), the nocturnal TT (p=0.08), the acquisition of daytime continence (p=0.06), and the type of equipment used for the TT (p=0.99). The use of Child-Oriented approach in group of children with enuresis was lower than in controls [87.4% (90/103) versus 94% (250/266)], respectively (OR= 0.44, 95% CI 0.21-0.94, p = 0.039).

CONCLUSIONS

The age of onset of TT, acquisition of daytime continence, and the type of equipment were not associated with higher occurrence of PMNE. On the other hand, the Child-Oriented approach was a protective factor for the occurrence of PMNE.