Abstract

Enuresis, defined as bedwetting after the age at which bladder control would normally be expected, is a very common disorder. Although the previous studies showed the prevalence of enuresis in childhood, no study has been designed in the age group of higher than 12 years in Turkey. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of nocturnal and diurnal enuresis in childhood and adolescence, and also to determine demographic characteristics of these groups.

A randomly selected study was performed among children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years, and a total of 6500 questionnaires were distributed. Of those, 5375 were completed the study. From data obtained for 5375 children and adolescents, the overall prevalence of nocturnal enuresis was 12.6%, and diurnal enuresis was 0.46%. The prevalence of nocturnal enuresis was 19.6% in the 5-12 year age group and 2.4% in the 13-19 year age group. The prevalence of enuresis was higher in the boys than in the girls, however there was no difference between genders in late adolescence. Familial history was detected in 54.5% of the enuretics and 11.38% of the nonenuretics. For the management of enuresis, traditional techniques were performed mostly in children. In contrast, 76.9% of enuretics treated with professional methods were in the adolescents aged 13-19 years. The mean number of urination in a day and constipation rate were statistically significantly higher in the enuresis group than in the nonenuretic group in the ages of 5-12 years.

In our study the prevalence and demographic characteristics of enuresis in childhood are similar to those in the previous studies reported from Turkey. In addition to the previous study, we determine the prevalence of nocturnal and diurnal enuresis in the adolescents aged 13-19 years. We demonstrated that the family concerned about enuresis in adolescence and used modern techniques for treatment in Turkey.