NOCTURNAL ENURESIS AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN ILORIN

Abstract

Background: Nocturnal enuresis is a common but often neglected urologic disorder
among children. The prevalence varies widely. There is paucity of local studies on
enuresis in North Central, Nigeria. To bridge this knowledge gap a prospective, cross
sectional study of nocturnal enuresis among primary school children in Ilorin, was carried
out between May – August, 2009. Objective: It was meant to determine the prevalence,
the predisposing factors (if any), common methods adopted by parents/guardians in its
management, and the impact on the psychosocial and academic performance of the child.
Methods: Subjects were 288 children, selected through a multistage random sampling
method, from public and private primary schools within the three Local Government
Areas in Ilorin, Kwara state. Results: The age range of the pupils was 5-17 years, with a
mean of 9.9 years.. The prevalence of nocturnal enuresis was 18.1%. The gender
prevalence of enuresis was higher in males (23.6%) than in females (12.5 %), (χ2 = 6.01,
p=0.0142). The prevalence declined with increasing age. Children aged 5-7 years had the
highest prevalence of enuresis (26.5%). Among the predisposing factors evaluated, low
socio economic background of the pupil (χ2=9.01, p=0.0111), enuresis in a sibling
(χ2=14.21, p=0.0002), second and third birth orders (χ2=4.69, p=0.0304 and χ2=5.70,
p=0.0169, respectively), and difficult arousal from sleep (χ2=4.34, p=0.0371) were found
to be significantly associated with enuresis. Common measures adopted by parents to
manage enuresis include, punitive measures – beating/spanking (73.1%), verbal abuse
(86.5%) and night time fluid restriction (55.8%). None of the parents sought orthodox
health care intervention for the enuresis. Sixty one percent of the children with enuresis
were reported to be fearful, following episodes of bed wetting, 13.5% had poor
interaction with other children, and another 13.5% felt embarrassed about their condition.
Although, a higher proportion of children with enuresis had poor academic performance
in comparison with those who do not bed wet, the difference was not statistically
significant (χ2 = 0.68, p = 0.7110). Conclusion: Nocturnal enuresis is common among
primary school children in Ilorin. Though largely amenable to orthodox medical
intervention, patients and their families utilize other means of therapy.
Recommendation: Awareness needs to be created to reverse this trend.

NOCTURNAL ENURESIS AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN ILORIN