Prevalence and risk factors of nocturnal enuresis among school age children in rural areas

Background: The word enuresis is derived from a Greek word (enourein) that means “to void urine.” It can occur either during the day or at night (though some restrict the term to bedwetting that occurs at night). Enuresis can be divided into primary and secondary forms. Aim of current study was to find out the prevalence and underlying its risk factors of nocturnal enuresis in age groups 5 to 12 years in the rural areas of the district. Methods: The study was done during the year 2011-12 among 1258 school children residing in rural areas of Ahmadabad district of Gujarat state by the help of health personnel staff with the cooperation of the teaching staff and all the parents of the children. Results: There were 869 males and 389 females. We found the prevalence of nocturnal enuresis in 11.13% of total subjects. Nocturnal enuresis was more common in males than in females, 91/140 in males and 49/140 in female children. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that nocturnal enuresis is a common problem among school children especially with low income, lower age, family history of enuresis and history of urinary tract infection. Enuresis is a pediatric public health problem and efforts at all levels should be made such as preventive, etiological and curative. The ratio of males to females in this study was 1.86 that is comparable to other data of the same study. [Int J Res Med Sci 2014; 2(1.000): 202-205]