The Relationship Between Child Anxiety Related Disorders and Primary Nocturnal Enuresis

BACKGROUND: Nocturnal enuresis, often called bedwetting or sleep wetting, is a common problem in children after the age of five and may lead to symptoms such as infection, incontinence and frequent urination. This problem refers to a state in which children after the age of five have no control of their urine for six continuous months and it cannot be attributed to any organic factors or drug use. OBJECTIVES: In this study we aimed to study generalized anxiety disorder as one of the possible causes of primary nocturnal enuresis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this case-control study 180 children with primary nocturnal enuresis and same number of healthy children with a mean age of 7 - 17 years old with the same demographic characteristics were selected. The study took place at Amir Kabir hospital of Arak, Iran during year 2014. After collecting the information, diagnosis was verified based on the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM) IV-TR criteria. Results were analyzed using the SPSS software (IBM Corp. Released 2011. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 20.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). RESULTS: Frequency of generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, school phobia, social anxiety, separation anxiety, history of anxiety in mother, history of primary nocturnal enuresis in parent’s family and body mass index had a significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: With the results obtained from this study we could say that there was a clear significant difference between the two control and patient groups for all subgroups of anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder and their relationship with primary nocturnal enuresis. Given the higher prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, school phobia, social anxiety, separation anxiety and comparison with healthy children, it is recommended for all children with primary nocturnal enuresis to be investigated and treated for generalized anxiety disorder.