Nocturnal enuresis in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: Prevalence, potential causes, and pathophysiology

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and potential causes of secondary nocturnal enuresis (NE) in adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN). METHOD: Adolescents with AN completed the Incontinence Symptom Index-Pediatric (ISI-P), a self-report urinary incontinence survey. Those who had NE associated with the onset of AN on the ISI-P completed a comprehensive clinical and laboratory evaluation, including urinary flow measurements. RESULTS: The prevalence of NE in adolescents with AN was 17.0% (10 of 59). The overall frequency of day- and night-time urinary incontinence symptoms in adolescents with AN was 62.7%; urgency incontinence, 57.6%; stress incontinence, 32.2%; and insensate incontinence, 17.0%. Nine of the 10 adolescents with NE had secondary NE and confirmed that bedwetting ceased after weight restoration. DISCUSSION: Decreased functional bladder capacity and detrusor instability may contribute to the NE observed in this population. The high prevalence of NE in adolescents with AN warrants further study to determine the potential causative pathways. Clinicians who work with adolescents with AN should assess for this problem.