Genetic Correlates of Wasting: a Pilot Study With Children Attending a Tertiary Feeding Clinic

Sponsor

University of Glasgow (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT04848129

Collaborator

University of Stirling (Other)

Enrollment

Location

Actual Duration (Months)

3.1

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

This is a pilot study of children attending the Glasgow feeding clinic (GFC) which looks after a range of children with severe feeding problems who commonly have low appetite and extreme thinness. The investigators want to find out if these children are more likely to carry genetic markers of thinness.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Undernutrition Eating Disorders Underweight	Behavioral: Feeding clinic

Detailed Description

Thinness occurs as a result of undereating, but it is not always clear why an individual child has not eaten enough, or how to get them to eat more. There is a need to understand the child characteristics that predispose to undereating and the how these operate, in order to design more effective treatment and prevention programmes. The Glasgow feeding clinic (GFC) looks after a range of children with severe feeding problems who commonly have low appetite and extreme thinness. The investigators want to find out if these children are more likely to carry genetic markers of thinness.

The investigators will invite up to 60 families to complete a standardised online questionnaire (ICFET) about their child's eating behaviour and collect a saliva sample from their child, sent by post. The investigators will identify how many genetic markers for thinness each carries and relate this to their ICFET appetite scores and existing growth measurements as well as their feeding history.

Study Design

Study Type:

Observational

Actual Enrollment :

25 participants

Observational Model:

Case-Only

Time Perspective:

Retrospective

Official Title:

What Makes Children Thin? Genetic and Behavioural Correlates of Wasting: a Pilot Study With Children Attending a Tertiary Feeding Clinic

Actual Study Start Date :

May 1, 2021

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Dec 31, 2021

Actual Study Completion Date :

Dec 31, 2021

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Genotype risk score [Within 1-2 months of recruitment]
This the number of risk polymorphisms present for each child ranges from 0-20. a high score suggests more thinness

Secondary Outcome Measures

Eating behaviour score [At recruitment or up to 2 months before]
Measure of appetite and food refusal assessed using standard questionnaire (International Complementary Feeding Evaluation Tool (ICFET) Score from 1-5, hihger score suggests greater avidity
Body mass index [Up to two years before genetic test]
weight (kg)/Height (m) squared

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

1 Year to 16 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Inclusion Criteria:

All participants currently attending Glasgow Feeding Clinic or assessed there within the last 2 years. NB current ethical application is restricted to children aged 1-7 years, but the investigators plan to apply to extend that to age 16 years.