[Health-related quality of life of children and adolescents with primary nocturnal enuresis who are undergoing therapy].

backgroundPrimary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) affects a relevant proportion of children (10-15% at school entrance). While a significant impact on psychological well-being and self-esteem of children has been reported, the consequences for Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) have been less addressed. The aim of this investigation is the analysis of HRQoL of PNE under therapy with an established questionnaire.

methodsThe KINDL‑R questionnaire for HRQoL with 24 items in 6 dimensions was sent to all patients of the enuresis outpatient clinic (ages 7-17 years, minimum 3 months of therapy, no achieved dryness). Actual number of wet nights and eventual comorbidities were extracted from the clinical data.

resultsOf 57 questionnaires sent by mail, 47 were returned from patients and parents (82.5%). The patient results did not show a correlation between HRQoL and age, but there was a negative correlation of physical well-being and increasing age (r = -0.259, p < 0.05). A marked negative correlation was seen between bed-wetting frequency and HRQoL (r = -0.372, p < 0.05), especially in the dimensions "self-worthiness" (r = -0.399, p < 0.005) and "chronic-generic" (r = -0.383, p < 0.05). DISCUSSION: During enuresis treatment without achieved dryness, the patients did not show systematic limitation in HRQoL compared to reference populations. This is in contrast to limitations in HRQoL and self-esteem before therapy, but may possibly be explained by the correlation of this dimension with bed-wetting frequency in this study and the reported improvement through treatment in other studies. Both factors support the need and importance of adequate PNE therapy.