Prevalence of adenoid hypertrophy and nocturnal enuresis in primary school children in Istanbul, Turkey.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of an existing relationship between adenoid hypertrophy and nocturnal enuresis in primary school children.

Methods: The study was performed in four primary schools that were chosen randomly in Kartal, Istanbul. The children's parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire that included questions concerning the associated symptoms of adenoid hypertrophy and nocturnal enuresis. The interrelations between adenoid hypertrophy and nocturnal enuresis items were examined by X2 tests.

Results: The study population consisted of 1132 (625 girls, 621 boys) primary school children between 5 and 14 years of age (mean 9.59+/-2.60 years). The children were divided into three groups with 5-7 years old children in Group I (n=232), 8-10 years old children in Group II (n=506) and 11-14 years old children in Group III (n=394). Of the 1132 distributed questionnaires, 1090 (87.4%) were filled in adequately and were accepted for evaluation. Prevalence of adenoid hypertrophy in school children was found to be 58 in Group I (27%), 94 in Group II (19.5%) and 78 in Group III (19.9%). Prevalence of nocturnal enuresis in school children was found to be 35 in Group I (15.1%), 51 in Group II (10.1%) and 18 in Group III (4.6%). No statistically significant association was present between adenoid hypertrophy and nocturnal enuresis in either Group I, II or III school children.

Conclusion: In contrast to previous studies, our prevalence study did not find an association between adenoid hypertrophy and nocturnal enuresis. Thus, this prevalence study provides otolaryngologists new and interesting information.