Department of Paediatric Neurology, Division of Paediatrics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Amalia Children's Hospital, Radboud University Medical Centre, Geert Grooteplein Zuid 10, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
's Heeren Loo Zorggroep, Advisium, Amersfoort, the Netherlands.
Eur J Pediatr. 2024 Oct;183(10):4491-4498. doi: 10.1007/s00431-024-05714-0. Epub 2024 Aug 15.
Anterior drooling is a common comorbidity in children and young people (CYP) with neurodevelopmental disabilities. This study aimed to assess the social and emotional impact of drooling in CYP with a developmental age (DA) of 6 years and older, in whom this impact may differ from those with a lower DA due to their developing sense of self and awareness of their position within social groups.
Questionnaire data collected for routine clinical care were used to assess parental perceptions of the impact of drooling on (1) social interaction; (2) satisfaction with social interaction, appearance, family relations and life in general and (3) the way CYP expressed feelings on appearance, acceptance by peers and acceptance by adults. Fisher's exact tests and Mann-Whitney U tests were applied to identify associations between clinical characteristics and the social and emotional impact of drooling.
Seventy-nine CYP with an estimated DA ≥ 6 years were included. The majority experienced frequent to constant (83%) and profuse (61%) drooling. Drooling frequently compromised social interaction with peers (49%) and adults (28%), and cognitive abilities were underestimated in 40%. Dissatisfaction with physical appearance (25%) related to drooling was noted. One-fifth of CYP reportedly expressed negative feelings on acceptance by peers related to drooling.
These findings underscore the substantial impact of drooling on CYP with a DA of 6 years and older, primarily through avoidance by peers and underestimated cognitive abilities, emphasizing that recognizing and addressing these social-emotional consequences should be integral to clinical care.
• Anterior drooling is common among children and youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
• There seems to be a heightened prevalence of impaired social interaction with peers and underestimation of cognitive abilities due to drooling among children with a developmental age of at least 6 years compared to previous studies with more heterogeneous populations. • The impact of drooling can extend to domains that affect self-esteem, although this may not be fully captured with standardized questions, requiring clinicians to address these consequences in a way that is tailored to the child's experiences.
流涎是儿童和青少年（CYP）神经发育障碍的常见共病。本研究旨在评估流涎对发育年龄（DA）≥6 岁的 CYP 的社会和情感影响，由于他们自我意识和对社会群体中自身位置的认知不断发展，这种影响可能与 DA 较低的 CYP 不同。
使用为常规临床护理收集的问卷调查数据，评估父母对流涎对口唇闭合、语言清晰度、吞咽功能、进食、社交互动、社会互动、对社会互动、外观、家庭关系和生活总体满意度以及 CYP 对自身外观、同伴接受度和成人接受度的表达方式的影响的看法。应用 Fisher 精确检验和 Mann-Whitney U 检验来识别临床特征与流涎的社会和情感影响之间的关联。
纳入了 79 名估计 DA≥6 岁的 CYP。大多数 CYP 频繁至持续（83%）和大量（61%）流涎。流涎经常影响 CYP 与同伴（49%）和成人（28%）的社交互动，并且 40%的人存在认知能力被低估的情况。注意到与流涎相关的对身体外观的不满（25%）。有五分之一的 CYP 表示由于流涎而被同伴拒绝相关的负面感受。
这些发现强调了流涎对 DA≥6 岁的 CYP 的重大影响，主要是通过同伴回避和认知能力被低估，强调了识别和解决这些社会情感后果应成为临床护理的重要组成部分。
• 流涎在神经发育障碍的儿童和青少年中很常见。
• 与以前研究中包含更多异质人群相比，DA 至少为 6 岁的 CYP 似乎更易发生与同伴社交互动受损和认知能力被低估的情况，这可能是由于流涎引起的。• 流涎的影响可能会延伸到影响自尊的领域，尽管这可能无法通过标准化问题完全捕捉到，这需要临床医生以适合儿童体验的方式来解决这些后果。
