Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Feb 15;14(2):e22232.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.22232. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Prevalence of Nocturnal Enuresis Among Children and Its Association With the Mental Health of Mothers in Northern Saudi Arabia

Anfal Nayir H Alanazi  1 , Reem Salem M Alanazi  1 , Eman N Alanazi  1 , Reham M Alanazi  1 , Unaib Rabbani  2
Affiliations

Prevalence of Nocturnal Enuresis Among Children and Its Association With the Mental Health of Mothers in Northern Saudi Arabia

Anfal Nayir H Alanazi et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Background Nocturnal enuresis (NE) is troubling for children and their families. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of NE, its associated health problems, and the outcome of the provided management among children aged 6-18 years and to assess the impact of NE on the mental health of mothers in Northern Saudi Arabia. Methodology A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Arar, Northern Saudi Arabia, among children aged 6-18 years old. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire including a Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Means ± standard deviations (SDs) were used to represent quantitative data, and frequencies and percentages were used to represent qualitative data. Ordinal logistic regression was used to assess the association of NE with perceived stress. Results A total of 420 participants were included in this study. Nocturnal enuresis was reported in 24% of the respondents' children. Around 51% of the mothers know about the causes of NE. Nocturnal enuresis caused embarrassment and social shame to 71% of the mothers. Two-thirds (66%) of the mothers wake up the child at night for urination. Three-quarters (76%) of the participants reported improvement on decreasing fluid intake before sleeping. Of the mothers, 19% perceived low stress, 78% perceived medium stress, and 3% perceived high stress. NE was associated with a higher risk of stress (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 2.14; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-4.37). Conclusion About a quarter of the children suffer from NE, of which a large proportion of mothers face embarrassment and shame. There was a significant association between NE and a higher level of stress. Mothers of children with NE should be provided with counseling and social support to ensure good mental health.

Keywords: mental health; mothers; nocturnal enuresis; outcomes; saudi arabia; stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Prevalence of nocturnal enuresis among children aged 6-18 years in Arar, KSA
Figure 2
Figure 2. Perceived stress among mothers in Arar, KSA (n = 420)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Nocturnal enuresis. Kiddoo DA. CMAJ. 2012;184:908–911. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sleep and behavior problems in school-aged children. Stein MA, Mendelsohn J, Obermeyer WH, Amromin J, Benca R. Pediatrics. 2001;107:0. - PubMed
    1. Sadock BJ, Sadock VA. Kaplan & Sadock’s comprehensive textbook of psychiatry, 9th edition. New York, NY: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2015.
    1. Prevalence of enuresis and its association with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among U.S. children: results from a nationally representative study. Shreeram S, He JP, Kalaydjian A, Brothers S, Merikangas KR. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009;48:35–41. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nocturnal enuresis. Thiedke CC. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0401/p1499.html. Am Fam Physician. 2003;67:1499–1506. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources