Screening for depression and anxiety in childhood neurogenic bladder dysfunction

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Urology
• Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Anxiety and depression (A/D) are common in chronic illnesses.
• Previous studies focused on adults with spina bifida (SB), not pediatric neurogenic bladder (NB).
• No studies have screened pediatric NB patients and their caregivers for A/D.

Purpose of the Study:

• Determine the prevalence of A/D in pediatric NB patients and their caregivers.
• Utilize validated screening measures for A/D assessment.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional screening study of pediatric patients (birth-19 years) with NB and their caregivers.
• Adolescents (10-19 years) and caregivers completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).
• Caregivers also completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).

Main Results:

• Adolescents: Median HADS scores for anxiety (5.5) and depression (1.5) were normal; however, 27% showed abnormal anxiety scores.
• Caregivers: Median HADS scores for anxiety (7) and depression (4) were normal; however, 49% had abnormal anxiety and 21% abnormal depression scores.
• Caregivers: 32% had abnormal CES-D scores for depression.

Conclusions:

• Considerable anxiety exists in adolescents with NB, and significant A/D is present in their caregivers.
• Despite normal median scores, a notable percentage of both groups exhibited abnormal A/D scores.
• Clinicians should proactively screen pediatric NB patients and their caregivers for A/D.