Early Behavioral Risks of Childhood and Adolescent Daytime Urinary Incontinence and Nocturnal Enuresis.
Monica M A Vasconcelos, Patricia East, Estela Blanco and 4 others
PMID 29045258WHAT IT FOUND
Early difficult temperament and childhood behavior problems were linked to later bedwetting and daytime wetting, but not consistently across ages or outcomes.
Key findings
01Difficult temperament at infancy was linked to higher likelihood of daytime urinary incontinence at age 10, but not at adolescence.
02At age 5, internalizing, externalizing, and inattention symptoms were linked to higher likelihood of nocturnal enuresis at age 10; externalizing and inattention symptoms were also linked to higher likelihood of nocturnal enuresis at adolescence.
03At age 10, internalizing, externalizing, and inattention symptoms were linked to both daytime and nighttime wetting at that age, and to nighttime wetting later, but not daytime wetting in adolescence.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This was a secondary analysis of data collected for another study, not a detailed assessment of childhood incontinence. Daytime and nighttime wetting were measured by only two mother-reported questions, without teacher or child corroboration. Mothers also rated behavior problems, so the same reporter could bias both behavior and wetting ratings. Only 9 adolescents had daytime wetting, so the study had limited power to detect adolescent daytime wetting risk factors. The behavior measures at age 5 and age 10 were not identical, which may affect comparisons. Adolescent participants spanned ages 11.9 to 17.8 years, a wide age range for continence development. Toilet training practices were not measured, so cultural differences in continence development cannot be ruled out. The study did not measure clinical ADHD diagnosis, only inattention symptoms.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that early temperament or behavior problems cause urinary incontinence. The study only reports associations, and mothers rated both behavior and wetting, so reporting bias could influence the results.