To evaluate the prevalence of abnormal voiding and bowel habits in healthy children,
and to identify possible relationships between personal and familial factors and voiding
and/or bowel habits.
A randomly selected cross-sectional study was conducted in 19,240 children (5-13 years
old) nationwide in the Republic of Korea. Parents were asked to complete questionnaires,
which included items about nocturnal enuresis, daytime dysfunctional voiding symptoms
(DVSs), and abnormal bowel habits (ABHs). Rates and associated factors were investigated.
The overall rates of DVS, ABH, and of both were 46.4%, 31.3%, and 18.4%, respectively,
and nocturnal enuresis was reported in 919 (5.6%). Daytime dysfunctional voiding symptoms
were as follows: increased voiding frequency in 419 (2.5%), decreased voiding frequency
in 720 (4.4%), urgency in 2740 (16.6%), daytime incontinence in 1854 (11.2%), urge
incontinence in 2775 (16.8%), and holding maneuvers or postponed voiding in 3888 (23.5%).
ABHs were as follows: constipation by frequency in 1103 (6.7%), constipation by the
Bristol scale in 1941 (11.8%), fecal incontinence in 1293 (7.8%), and difficult or
painful defecation in 2609 (15.8%). Delayed stool control, history of urinary tract
infection, and a double-income family were positively associated with DVS or ABH or
both. Furthermore, fathers with a low level of education and a low income were found
to be associated with higher risk of ABH or DVS or both.
Delayed stool control, a history of urinary tract infection, a low paternal level
of education, a double-income family, and a lower family income had a negative effect
on voiding or bowel habits in children.
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