Table 1.
Baseline patient characteristics between healthcare settings
| Total | 1-HC | 2-HC | 3-HC | P valuea | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 1748 | n = 731 | n = 906 | n = 111 | |||
| (41.7) | (51.9) | (6.4) | ||||
| Participants | ||||||
| Age (years) | Mean ± SD | 7.7 ± 2.9 | 7.5 ± 2.9 | 7.8 ± 2.8 | 7.9 ± 3.2 | 0.27 |
| Boys | 855 (48.9) | 385 (52.6) | 414 (45.4) | 56 (51.3) | ||
| Age (years) | Mean ± SD | 7.6 ± 2.8 | 7.4 ± 2.8 | 7.9 ± 2.8 | 7.6 ± 2.9 | 0.25 |
| Girls | 893 (51.1) | 345 (47.3) | 493 (53.6) | 55 (48.7) | ||
| Age (years) | Mean ± SD | 7.7 ± 2.9 | 7.6 ± 3.0 | 7.8 ± 2.8 | 8.2 ± 3.5 | 0.27 |
| Parentsb | Single parent | 113 (6.7) | 46 (6.7) | 59 (6.7) | 8 (7.1). | |
| Two parents | 1429 (85.1) | 589 (85.7) | 749 (84.8) | 91 (83.5) | ||
| Newly formed family | 137 (8.2) | 52 (7.6) | 75 (8.5) | 10 (7.3) | ||
| Siblings | 1481 (88.2) | 603 (87.8) | 779 (88.2) | 99 (90.8) | 0.39 | |
| Problems at homec | 236 (13.5) | 96 (13.2) | 128 (14.1) | 12 (5.1) | 0.27 | |
| Childhood bladder and bowel dysfunctions (physicians’ diagnoses) | ||||||
| Daytime urinary incontinence | 602 (34.3) | 274 (37.6) | 296 (32.6) | 32 (28.3) | 0.039* | |
| Constipation | 549 (31.4) | 164 (22.5) | 341 (37.6) | 44 (38.9) | <0.001* | |
| Enuresis | 493 (28.2) | 243 (33.3) | 229 (25.2) | 21 (18.9) | <0.001* | |
| Fecal incontinence | 362 (20.7) | 159 (21.8) | 178 (19.6) | 25 (22.1) | 0.51 | |
| Increased voiding frequency | 267 (15.3) | 114 (15.7) | 141 (15.5) | 12 (10.6) | 0.37 | |
| Urinary tract infections | 210 (12.0) | 48 (6.6) | 142 (15.7) | 20 (17.7) | <0.001* | |
| Abdominal pain | 457 (26.1) | 163 (22.4) | 259 (28.6) | 35 (31.0) | 0.009* | |
| Withholding behavior | ||||||
| At least one bladder dysfunction | 1122 (64.2) | 486 (66.8) | 572 (63.1) | 64 (55.6) | 0.069 | |
| At least one bowel dysfunction | 793 (45.4) | 286 (36.1) | 445 (49.1) | 62 (54.9) | <0.001* | |
| CBBD | 321 (18.4) | 116 (15.9) | 183 (20.2) | 22 (19.5) | 0.083 | |
| Other health problemsd | 126 (7.4) | 26 (3.7) | 80 (8.8) | 20 (18.7) | <0.001* | |
| Medicatione | Bladder | 183 (10.5) | 77 (10.6) | 89 (9.8) | 17 (15.0) | 0.23 |
| Bowel | 787 (45.4) | 287 (39.7) | 440 (48.9) | 60 (53.1) | <0.001* | |
| Parent-completed SDQ, age 4–16 years | ||||||
| Analyzed = 1559 | Range | |||||
| close to average to slightly raised | 0–16 | 1386 (88.9) | 547 (87.1) | 749 (90.0) | 90 (90.9) | |
| high to very high | 17–40 | 173 (11.1) | 81 (12.9) | 83(10.0) | 9 (9.1) | |
| Total difficulties score | 0–40 | 9.2 ± 5.7 | 9.5 ± 5.8 | 9.0 ± 5.7 | 8.5 ± 5.5 | 0.15 |
HC healthcare setting (1 primary; 2 secondary; 3 tertiary); SDQ Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire; CBBD Both, bladder and bowel dysfunction. Data are presented as number (n) and percentage (%) (or otherwise circumscribed, mean and ± standard deviation (SD))
aANOVA or Pearson’s chi-square
bmissing 4.9% (P = 0.93)
cDivorce of parents, death of a parent or grandparent, sibling or pet, moving house, stress at home
dPulmopathy/asthma (2.2%); feeling sick/failure to thrive (1.7%); allergy/eczema (0.8%); neurological disorders (0.7%); endocrine or metabolic disorders (0.5%); musculoskeletal disorders (0.5%); gynecologic disorders (0.4%); complex disorders (0.3%); otopathy (0.2%); cardiopathy (0.2%); psychiatric disorders (0.2%); cystic fibrosis (0.1%); other gastrointestinal tract disorders (0.1%); not otherwise specified (0.4%)
eBladder: overactive bladder, enuresis and current urinary tract infection; bowel: laxatives
*Significant at the P < 0.05 level