Neighborhood-level Disparities in Achievement of Social Continence Among School-aged Children With Anorectal Malformations: A Single-center Retrospective Study

In brief

This retrospective study examines how neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage affects fecal continence outcomes in school-aged children after anorectal malformation repair. The research explores whether social determinants of health influence achievement of continence beyond traditional clinical factors like anatomy and comorbidities.

• Fecal incontinence remains common in children with repaired anorectal malformations, significantly impacting school readiness and participation.
• Traditional predictors of continence outcomes include patient sex, anatomic defect type, and presence of medical comorbidities.
• Socioeconomic factors and neighborhood-level disadvantage may influence continence achievement but remain understudied in this population.
• Achieving social continence by school age is a critical functional milestone for children with ARM.
• Understanding non-medical barriers to continence may inform targeted interventions to reduce outcome disparities.

Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.