Growth and Development in ۶-year-old Children with and without Primary Nucturnal Enuresis

Background and Objective: Nocturnal Enuresis is one of the most common complications in childhood, and it is likely a multifactorial disease. However, its etiology is not fully understood. A number of studies have suggested that children with enuresis have slower linear growth than other children. Our goal was to compare growth and development of children with primary nocturnal enuresis with normal children within the most common age range for the disease. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, we selected ۱۰۰ ۶-year-old children (ranging from the end of ۵th year till the end of ۶th) whom were diagnosed with nocturnal enuresis as our case group and studied their developmental status by Ages and stages Questionnaire (ASQ). The control group was selected from ۶-year-old children who attended the clinic for reasons other than enuresis. The test and control groups were sex matched. Results: Among ۱۰۰ patients with primary nocturnal enuresis, ۷۶ were male and ۲۴ were female. Children with primary nocturnal enuresis were significantly behind in growth and development in the five axes of personal/social, problem solving, gross motor, fine motor, and communication skills (p= ۰.۰۰۷ and p<۰.۰۰۰۰۰۰۱, respectively). Conclusion: As children with primary nocturnal enuresis lag in growth and development in comparison with normal children, this disorder can be categorized as a developmental central nervous system disease.