Associations of Autistic Traits and Autism with Incontinence and Constipation in a UK Birth Cohort.
Prince Gyamenah, Kimberley Burrows, Dheeraj Rai and 1 others
PMID 39644411WHAT IT FOUND
Children with high autistic traits, especially social-communication and language coherence difficulties, had higher odds of daytime wetting and soiling at age 9.
At age 14, autistic traits were also linked to constipation. Screen for continence issues in autistic children.
Key findings
01At age 9, difficulties with social-communication and language coherence were associated with increased odds of daytime wetting and soiling.
02At age 14, autistic traits were associated with increased odds of constipation, a pattern not seen at age 9 except for the broad autism phenotype.
03Diagnosed autism was associated with daytime wetting at age 9 and soiling at age 14, but estimates were imprecise due to small case numbers.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study used self-reported or parent-reported questionnaires for incontinence and constipation rather than clinical diagnostic criteria, which may affect the precision of the outcome measures. Attrition and missing data resulted in a complete-case sample that was more socially advantaged than the original cohort, potentially introducing selection bias. Statistical power to detect associations with diagnosed autism was low due to the small number of cases in the community sample, leading to wide confidence intervals. The study cannot prove causation; residual confounding from unmeasured factors (e.g., specific sensory processing profiles, diet) cannot be ruled out.
Declared interests
Funded by the Medical Research Council and the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre. No specific author conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that all autistic traits carry the same risk for continence problems. Social-communication and coherence difficulties were the strongest predictors for daytime wetting and soiling at age 9, while repetitive behaviours showed no significant association. Additionally, the link to constipation emerged at age 14, not age 9, suggesting the risk profile changes with development.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →