Sleep disturbances associated with sleep enuresis: a questionnaire study

Purpose Sleep enuresis (SE) is the second most common sleep complaint in childhood. It has been associated with bladder hyperactivity, excessive urine production and deeper sleep. Several sleep disorders have been described in association with SE like parasomnias and sleep apnea. The aim of this study was to analyze the presence of sleep disturbances in children with SE through the use of Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) compared to normal children matched for age and sex. Methods A questionnaire evaluation was performed in 76 enuretic and 112 normal children through the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) validated for Portuguese language. The Scale is grouped into six subscales: Disorders in Initiating and Maintaining Sleep (DIMS), Sleep Breathing Disorders (SBD), Disorders of Arousal (DA), Sleep-Wake Transition Disorders (SWTD), Disorders Of Excessive Somnolence (DOES), and Nocturnal Hyperhidrosis (SHY). Children with renal and neurological problems were excluded from both groups. Results Enuretics scored higher in several of the subscales (SBD, DOA, SWTD) and also in the total scale scores while scored low in the DIMS subscale. No differences were found for the DOES and SHY subscales. Conclusions Enuretic children showed a high comorbidity with other sleep disturbances like sleep disordered breathing and parasomnias. The novel finding of this study is that we found a decreased incidence of DIMS that is consistent with the parental perception of a more deep sleep and a high arousal threshold in SE.