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

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

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Eating Disorders; Undernutrition; Underweight
• Intervention / Treatment: 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 Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 25

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Scotland
    • Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, G31 2ER
      • New Lister building, Royal Infirmary

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 1 year to 16 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

This is a heterogeneous population, united by their difficulties in eating solid food. The majority are, or have previously been, tube fed and around half have some learning disability. Thinness is very common in this group, but we will include all children, whatever their current growth pattern.

Description

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.

Exclusion Criteria:

Sample not to be collected with 2 weeks of any symptoms or recent contact with Covid 19

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

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

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Eating behaviour score	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	At recruitment or up to 2 months before
Body mass index	weight (kg)/Height (m) squared	Up to two years before genetic test

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Glasgow
• Collaborators: University of Stirling
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Charlotte Wright, MD, University of Glasgow

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 13, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 13, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): April 19, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 7, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 29, 2022
• Last Verified: March 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Genetics; Child; Eating behaviour; Tube feeding; Avoidant Restrictive food intake disorder
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Nutrition Disorders; Body Weight; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Malnutrition; Thinness
• Other Study ID Numbers: NHSGGC290906Gen

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: The individual anonymized data would be made available on request for a collaborative genetic study
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: On request once initial write up is complete - after 2 years
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Available on request
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No