Association Between Frequent Urination and Prolonged Staying at Home

Due to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many activities have stopped and individuals have been forced to stay at home for prolonged periods, which can have a negative impact on overall health and trigger stress and psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety. The objective of this study was to highlight 25 cases of unusual frequent urination associated with abnormal sleep and their relation to staying at home for a prolonged period due to the COVID-19 crisis.

This retrospective cross-sectional study included 25 patients who complained of frequent urination (> 3 times/hour) and abnormal sleep during the last 4 months (January-April 2020). These patients were evaluated for all possible differential diagnoses.

All of the patients had frequent urination > 10 times/day and abnormal sleep but had normal kidney function tests and other investigations. None of the patients had been doing any physical activity at home. All of the patients said that both sleep and urination frequency improved after leaving home for a while (eg, to visit friends, walk, or play sports). This improvement occurred within 2 nights of leaving the home; however, the majority of patients improved after the first night.

"Home staying syndrome" is an undefined syndrome of unusual symptoms of abnormal sleep (altering sleep time and duration) and frequent urination > 3 times/hour. This syndrome is associated with staying at home for a long period of time and is easily resolved by doing any activity such as sports or visiting friends. While this syndrome is rare, it may be more prevalent now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forces people to stay home for infection prevention.