THE PREVALANCE OF ENURESIS AND THE FACTORS AFFECTING ENURESIS, AMONG THE FIRST LEVEL PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ERZURUM

This is an analytical and cross sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of enuresis and the factors causing enuresis among the first level primary school students in Erzurum.

In May 1999, 6400 first level students from 68 primary schools in Erzurum city center have been selected as the subjects of the research. Among these a total of 210 students (107 boys, 103 girls), aged between 6 and 8, were selected by simple random sampling method. A questionnaire containing 44 different parameters was given to the families of these students. The findings were evaluated by statistical (chi-square, t-test and Kolmogrov Smirnov) tests.

Enuresis prevalence rate was found to be 20.6% for the boys and 8.7% for the girls. Of the enuretic students, 83.9% was primary, 16.1% was secondary. The prevalence of diurnal enuresis among enuretic students was 44.4% for the boys and 18.2% for the girls. It was found that, among the enuretic students, 32.3% wetted their beds every night and 19.3% wetted their beds 2-3 times a month. The prevalence of enuresis increased considerably to 27.9% for the 4th and the subsequent children in a family. The prevalence of enuresis was 25.4% for the students who had enuretic siblings, 37.5% for the students whose parents were enuretic in the past, and 27.5% for the students who had enuretic close relatives.

It was concluded that, families didn’t have enough education about the enuresis, they didn’t show the required sensitivity needed for