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Attentional dysfunction in children with encopresis
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle.
Insights
Children with encopresis (involuntary defecation) show a significantly higher prevalence of attentional dysfunction and hyperactivity. This finding suggests a potential link between these neurobehavioral disorders in childhood.
Area of Science:
- Neurobehavioral disorders in childhood
- Pediatric gastroenterology
- Child psychology
Background:
- Encopresis and attentional dysfunction are common childhood neurobehavioral disorders.
- The comorbidity between these conditions is not well understood.
- Understanding this association is crucial for effective diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of attentional dysfunction in children diagnosed with encopresis.
- To document the comorbidity of hyperactivity in a clinical encopresis population.
- To inform etiological theories and treatment strategies for childhood encopresis.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to assess attention/hyperactivity.
- Analyzed CBCL "hyperactive" subscale scores against normative data.
- Included 167 children with encopresis from a tertiary care facility.
Main Results:
- 23.4% of encopretic children exhibited hyperactivity T scores above 70.
- This prevalence is approximately tenfold higher than in the general population.
- The association was consistent across genders and age groups.
Conclusions:
- A significant comorbidity exists between encopresis and attentional dysfunction in children.
- This link has implications for understanding the underlying causes of encopresis.
- Findings support the need for integrated treatment approaches addressing both conditions.
Abstract:
Encopresis and attentional dysfunction are common neurobehavioral disorders of childhood. The extent to which these disorders occur in association is unknown. The purpose of this study is to document the comorbidity of attentional dysfunction in a clinically identified population of encopresis patients. We used the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to estimate the prevalence of disordered attention or hyperactivity in a group of children with encopresis seen at a tertiary care facility. Responses to CBCL questionnaires were analyzed to compare scores on the "hyperactive" behavior subscale with published normative data. The number of encopretic respondents with T scores above 70 (> 2 SD above the mean) on a hyperactivity subscale was ascertained for each age and gender cohort. From 347 eligible new clinic patients, responses from 167 were suitable for analysis. Overall, 23.4% of children with encopresis (95% confidence interval: 17.2%-30.5%) had T scores on the hyperactive subscale higher than 70. This prevalence (ten fold greater than expected in the normal population) was similar in both genders and across age groups. This association between attentional dysfunction and encopresis has significance for theories regarding etiology and for practical treatment strategies.