Evaluation of lower urinary tract dysfunction in Turkish primary schoolchildren: an epidemiological study

Abstract

Objective: The aim was to determine the prevalence of voiding dysfunction and its related risk factors in Turkish schoolchildren.

Materials and methods: A randomly selected, cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered and previously validated questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part included personal demographic and familial information, and the second part included the Dysfunctional Voiding and Incontinence Scoring System (DVISS). The questionnaires were given to 4668 children between 6 and 15 years of age, which were completed by the parents and children together. The children with a score of ≥9 were accepted as having lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD).

Results: The data were collected from 4016 children (the response rate was 86.0%), including 48.6% boys and 51.4% girls. The mean age was 10.5±2.2 years. The overall frequency of LUTD was 9.3%. While the 6-year-old children had the highest frequency (23.1%) of LUTD, this rate was 7.9% at the age of 10, and the children aged 14 years had the lowest frequency (4.9%), (p<0.001). Lower urinary tract symptoms were significantly more common in girls (7.6%) than in boys (3.2%) only for the older age group (between 12 and 15 years of age). Compared with normal children, those with LUTD (with a score of ≥9) had the following risk factors: less educated parents, a parent that had lower urinary tract symptoms when he or she was a child, more persons per room (≥2 persons), more siblings (≥4 siblings) at home, past medical history of urinary tract infections, and squatting position (in girls).

Conclusions: Lower urinary tract problems are one of the most important and ongoing health problems in childhood. Determining the prevalence of lower urinary tract problems in children and their related risk factors is the first step to managing and reducing the number of children suffering from voiding problems.

Keywords: Childhood; Lower urinary tract dysfunction; Prevalence.