Nocturnal enuresis and sleep disordered breathing in children
Purpose There is a well recognised association between sleep disordered breathing (SDB) (formerly known as obstructive sleep apnoea) and nocturia in adults. It would be fair to hypothesise that nocturia could present as nocturnal enuresis (NE) in children, thus raising the question whether SDB (a common problem in children) could play a role in the aetiology of NE. A literature search revealed little research into the association between NE and SDB and the results were contradictory and inconclusive. The aim of this study was to explore this area further to determine whether there is an association between these two common conditions. Material and methods The Study Group comprised 40 patients, aged 5-15yrs, attending the enuretic clinic and the Control Group a further 40 patients, matched for age and sex, undergoing routine day case surgery not involving the urinary tract or ENT. Subjects completed the validated Chervin SDB and an enuretic questionnaire. Statistical analysis used Pearson's Chi2, Fishers exact test and Mann Whitney U tests where appropriate. Results Both groups were well matched for age and sex. Patients with NE had significantly higher positive Chervin Sleep Disordered Breathing Score than controls (p Conclusions Patients with nocturnal enuresis, irrespective of the type, onset, severity, age or sex had significantly higher positive CSDBS than controls. Therefore there is a clear association between NE and SDB in children. This finding opens up further investigative pathways and treatment modalities for those patients with NE who do not respond to standard treatment.