Evaluation of the Parent's Functioning and Behavioral Disorders in Children with and without Vesicoureteral Reflux

Vesicoureteral reflux is the backward flow of the urine from the bladder into the ureters or kidneys that may result in urinary tract infection. This paper aimed at evaluating this problem and its relationship with the children's mood, growth, and physical conditions as well as its influence on the family and school.
The study population consisted of 122 children aged 4-14 years old: 61 with and 61 without VUR. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) were used to assess the parent's behavior. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and t test.
In this study, 23% of the children with and 4.9% of the children without VUR suffered depression (P value= 0.007). Moreover, 10.7% of the children with VUR showed offensive behaviors but there found no case among the children in the other group (P value=0.012). In addition, 16.4% of the children with and 1.7% of the children without VUR had intellectual problems (P value=0.008). Furthermore, 27.9% of the children with and 3.3% of the children without VUR had emotional problems (P value=0.001), and 4.9% of the parents of the children with VUR needed serious clinical measures but there were no such cases among children without VUR (P value=0.021).
Increased behavioral problems in children with VUR and declined parental functioning require prompt treatment to prevent future behavioral problems in children.