Bladder and bowel function, participation, and quality of life in children with intellectual disabilities

Evaluation of Bladder and Bowel Functions, Participation and Quality of Life in Children With Intellectual Disabilities

This project will compare bladder and bowel symptoms, daily participation, and quality of life in children aged 5–12 with intellectual disabilities and typically developing peers to see how common and severe these problems are.

Quick facts

• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 100 (estimated)
• Ages: 5 Years to 12 Years
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Abant Izzet Baysal University (other)
• Locations: 1 site (Bolu)
• Trial ID: NCT07059858 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This is a cross-sectional study enrolling children aged 5–12 with documented intellectual disability from Special Education and Rehabilitation Centers and age-matched typically developing children. Parents and children provide consent and sociodemographic and clinical data are collected. Bladder and bowel symptoms will be measured with standardized questionnaires (CBBDQ, DVISS, LUTSS), participation with the CASP, parental quality of life with the Nottingham Health Profile, and children’s GI-related quality of life with the PedsQL GI Module. The study aims to characterize symptom prevalence and associations between bowel/bladder dysfunction, participation, and family quality of life.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Children aged 5–12 years with a documented intellectual disability (IQ <70) attending special education settings, and typically developing children of the same age, whose parents and children agree to participate.

Not a fit: Children with physical disabilities, known neurological anomalies affecting bladder/bowel function, recent relevant surgery or trauma, genetic disorders, or who are taking medications that affect bladder or bowel function are excluded and may not benefit from this study's findings.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could reveal unmet bladder and bowel care needs in children with intellectual disabilities and guide better screening and support for families and schools.

How similar studies have performed: Previous research has shown higher rates of urinary incontinence and bowel problems in children with developmental disabilities, but comprehensive comparisons using this set of standardized questionnaires in this population are relatively limited.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

For Children with Intellectual Disabilities:

* Aged between 5 and 12 years
* Diagnosed with mild, moderate, or severe intellectual disability as documented by the ÇÖZGER (Child Special Needs Report)
* Both the parent and the child agree to participate in the study

For Typically Developing Children

* Aged between 5 and 12 years
* Both the parent and the child agree to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

For Children with Intellectual Disabilities:

* Having a diagnosis of physical disability
* Presence of a neurological anomaly affecting bladder and bowel functions
* Parent does not consent to participate in the study
* Having undergone trauma or surgery affecting bladder and bowel functions within the last 6 months
* Diagnosis of a genetic disorder
* Use of medications that may affect bladder and bowel functions

For Typically Developing Children

* Presence of a neurological anomaly affecting bladder and bowel functions
* Lack of parental consent to participate in the study
* Having experienced trauma or undergone surgery affecting bladder and bowel functions within the past 6 months
* Use of medications that may influence bladder and bowel functions

Where this trial is running

Bolu

• Abant Izzet Baysal University Faculty of Health Science — Bolu, Turkey (Türkiye) (RECRUITING)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Sezen Tezcan, PhD — Abant Izzet Baysal University
• Study coordinator: Sezen Tezcan

Conditions: Intellectual Disability, Healthy Subjects