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[Psychiatric morbidity associated to enuresis in children]
F Díaz-Atienza1, J Santiago, E M Navarro
1Unidad de Salud Mental Infanto-Juvenil, Hospital General de Especialidades, Jaen, España. f.atienza@grx.servicom.es
Insights
Most children with enuresis referred to mental health services do not have co-occurring psychiatric disorders. This suggests referrals may stem from service delivery practices rather than psychopathology.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychiatry
- Child Psychology
- Clinical Epidemiology
Context:
- Enuresis is a common concern in child and adolescent mental health units.
- Understanding the clinical and epidemiological profile of enuretic children is crucial for targeted interventions.
- Previous research has explored enuresis in the general population, but clinical samples require specific analysis.
Purpose:
- To investigate the clinical and epidemiological features of children presenting with enuresis.
- To determine the prevalence of associated psychiatric morbidity in this cohort.
- To identify factors associated with enuresis and comorbid conditions in a child mental health setting.
Summary:
- A retrospective study analyzed 2,315 children's charts over five years, focusing on enuresis and psychiatric comorbidities.
- Enuresis was the primary reason for admission in 9.9% of cases (230 children).
- 19.5% of enuretic children had comorbid psychiatric disorders, linked to male gender (under 9) and secondary/mixed enuresis.
Impact:
- Findings suggest that many children referred for enuresis to psychiatric services may not have significant psychopathology.
- Results indicate that referral patterns might be influenced by healthcare system practices.
- This study contributes to understanding enuresis management in specialized child mental health settings.
Aims:
The objective of the study was to know the clinical and epidemiological features, including associated psychiatric morbidity, of the children seeking help for enuresis in a public child and adolescent mental health unit.
Subjects And Method:
Within an exploratory, retrospective, and observational study, we reviewed the clinical charts of all the children (N= 2,315) attending the unit during a five-year period (January 1992-December 1997), collecting information on gender, age, type of enuresis, associated psychiatric morbidity, and social and family characteristics. Both the enuresis and the associated psychiatric disorders were diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria.
Results:
Enuresis was the reason for admission in 230 children (9.9%), whose mean (+/- SD) age was 9.0 (+/- 2.9) years (range: 5-18). The condition of single-parent family, the perception of economic difficulties, and a poor academic achievement were not associated to any type of enuresis. A 19.5 per cent of the patients with enuresis presented a co-morbid psychiatric disorder, which was significantly associated to both male gender in subjects younger than 9 and enuresis of the type secondary or mixed.
Discussion:
Most children with enuresis referred for psychiatric consultation do not present an associated psychiatric disorder. Our results on children with enuresis, in a clinical sample, are similar to those of previous studies conducted in the general population. This may mean that these patients are sent to child psychiatry services for reasons of traditional health delivery uses rather than for their psychopathological characteristics.