Sensory processing differences and urinary incontinence in school-aged children

Abstract

ObjectiveUrinary Incontinence (UI) is a common problem among school-aged children (5–11 years). Symptoms such as urgency, diminished awareness of wetting, or apparent apathy may represent differences in sensory processing (SP). This study aims to describe the SP abilities of incontinent school-aged children with typical development to determine if they differ from established norms for continent children. Materials and methodsThe SP abilities of 209 school-aged children with UI were evaluated using the short sensory profile (SSP), a judgment-based caregiver questionnaire, then compared with established norms using descriptive and inferential statistics. ResultsForty-four percent of children showed significant differences in global SP with the greatest differences noted in tactile sensitivity. Higher section subscores were also noted in “seeks sensation/under responsive” and “auditory sensitivity”. Children with dysfunctional voiding (DV) were more likely to show global differences (p = 0.015), differences in “seeks sensation” (p = 0.006), and auditory sensitivity (p = 0.041). The odds for low tactile sensitivity scores were five times greater for children with UI and DV (p = 0.006). ConclusionThese results suggest that differences in SP may be found among typical school aged children with UI. Continued research is indicated to understand the significance of the study results.