Comparison of child abuse history in patients with and without overactive bladder: a case-control study

Child abuse is a major global concern in terms of healthcare and social welfare. Child abuse is associated with numerous physical and mental health issues, including anxiety and depression. Overactive bladder (OAB) is a bladder storage functional disease defined by urine urgency with or without urge incontinence and is frequently accompanied by frequency and nocturia. This disorder’s origin is not entirely understood. Since OAB can be caused by problems of nervous system maturation or behavioural disorders, its correlation with child maltreatment is possible. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the occurrence of maltreatment in children with OAB to healthy children referred to Amirkabir hospital, Arak. METHOD: This study included 100 children with overactive bladder and 100 healthy children without overactive bladder (ages 5–12 years) as case and control groups, respectively. Children referred to paediatric clinic at Amirkabir hospital in Arak, were selected as participants. Child abuse domains including psychological/emotional, physical, and neglect were diagnosed using a standardized child abuse questionnaire answered by the children. Data were analyzed by SPSS version χ(2) test, t-test, and Pearson’s χ(2) test. RESULTS: The Prevalence of child maltreatment was significantly greater in the case group (31 cases) than in the control group (12 cases) (P<0.0001). The psychological/emotional domain of child abuse was observed in 19 case group participants and 4 control group participants (P=0.001), and the physical domain was observed in 29 case group participants and 11 control group participants (P<0.0001). Despite this considerable difference, 10 and 8 children in the case and control groups, respectively, scored positively for the neglect domain (P=0.112). CONCLUSION: Child abuse is considerably more common in children with OAB than in healthy children, especially in the psycho-emotional and physical domains, and it is possible to prevent and treat this condition by notifying parents. Children with OAB should also be subjected to child abuse screening.