Enuresis: prevalence and associated factors among primary school children in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of enuresis and the factors associated with it among primary school children. This is a cross-sectional population-based study. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Six hundred and forty school children aged 6-16 years were selected randomly. Enuresis prevalence was 16.3% among boys and 13.8% among girls. The overall prevalence was 15%. Breastfeeding, first born children, family integrity and stability were found to be protective. Stressful life events before the age of 6 years, deep sleep, acute family psycho-social problems, recurrent urinary tract infection, constipation and congenital defects were found to be strongly associated with enuresis. Enuresis was also found to be associated with family history of enuresis. An important finding is that of the 83 children who had enuresis during sleep, 25 (30.1%) wet their beds during day time sleep (day sleep wetting). The importance of enuresis as a health problem has been affirmed and specific guidelines were suggested.