EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ENURESIS AMONG CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS, 5 TO 16-YEARS OLD, IN OUAGADOUGOU (BURKINA-FASO)

Background. - Enuresis is a frequent manifestation with important psyc hological and social consequences in Africa. In order to help the publ ic authorities to plan monitoring actions and better targeted health i nterventions, we carried out this prospective study in one district of Ouagadougou. The aim of this study was to describe and analyze enuret ic children and teenagers' profile from 5- to 16-years old, and their parents' attitude toward the disorder. Population and methods. - A cro ss-sectional study was conducted among 1,575 children and teenagers of this age group. Those children and teenagers were chosen from a rando m sample of 645 households. Sociodemographic and medical data were obt ained from respondents by using a written questionnaire. Results. - Th e rate of young people affected was 12.95%. Among them, 78.9% had prim ary enuresis; 50.5% of them were not treated. Those with secondary enu resis were more easily treated than those with primary stage. 87.3% we re traditionally treated and 3.4% of enuretic children were essentiall y submitted to fluid restrictions In about 27% of the cases, children were punished by their parents. Conclusion. - Sociodemographic charact eristics of our sample were similar to those in the literature. Howeve r, the parents in our study rarely used modern treatment and had inapp ropriate attitudes toward the disorder. We recommend that the most imp ortant factors to be taken into account in the secondary prevention of enuresis are the parents' ignorance and/or their scepticism toward th e modern therapeutic possibilities.