Nocturnal Enuresis and its Impact on Growth

Nocturnal enuresis is a common developmental-behavioral problem in children. The present study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of primary nocturnal enuresis and to determine its impact on physical growth of the first grade elementary school children. This is a cross-sectional study carried out on 350 first-grade children (6 to 6.5 yr old) elementary schools in Gonabad through random stratified sampling. All children had primary nocturnal enuresis. A questionnaire containing demographic criteria and various factors that may play a role in bed-wetting was filled out; a digital scale and a non-expanding measuring tape were used to collect data. Diagnosis of enuresis considered nocturnal voiding twice a week for at least three consecutive months. The prevalence of primary nocturnal enuresis was 21% for boys and 14.9% for girls, and the overall prevalence was 17.5%. The average weight of enuretic children was lower than that of the non-affected ones. In addition, these children were in average shorter compared to those without enuresis. This study demonstrates that growth failure is a coexisting problem in children with primary nocturnal enuresis. Since enuresis and other stressful conditions in family can cause growth failure in children, the treatment of enuresis eliminating a stressful condition could be an effective measure in improving children''s physical growth.