title: Childhood enuresis: prevalence, perceived impact, and prescribed treatments.
abstract: Childhood enuresis can indicate an underlying problem as benign as developmental immaturity or as serious as urinary tract obstruction. As part of a large population-based study, parents of 1,753 children aged 5 to 13 years were asked about the presence and frequency of enuresis, perceived impact, and physician-prescribed treatments. Enuresis at least once during a 3-month period was reported for 14% of this general population of children. Boys were significantly more likely to experience enuresis than girls (16% v 12%; P less than .01). The prevalence of enuresis at least once a week was similar among boys and girls (7% v 6%). Parents reported that more than half of the children are distressed by their enuresis, and two thirds of parents expressed concern. Thirty-eight percent of bed wetters have seen a physician about their condition. More than one third of these children have been treated with a drug. The most commonly recommended regimen in the literature, the bed alarm, was prescribed to only 3% of bed-wetting children who saw a physician.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003376:Counseling; D004522:Educational Status; D004775:Enuresis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007099:Imipramine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D011613:Psychotherapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D007099:Imipramine