Night diapers use and sleep in children with enuresis

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to assess the association between night diapers use and sleep quality of school-aged children with enuresis.

Methods: The sleep patterns of 72 school-aged children (ages 6-9 y) with enuresis referred to a clinic specializing in bladder disorders and 63 healthy control children were assessed. Sleep measures were derived from four to five monitoring nights of actigraphy and daily logs.

Results: In comparison to controls, children with enuresis who did not wear night diapers had poorer sleep quality as reflected by both actigraphic measures (more activity during sleep and shorter periods of continuous sleep) and one reported measure (lower sleep quality). However, no differences were found on any of the sleep measures between children with enuresis wearing night diapers and controls. The reported sleep quality of all children with enuresis with and without night diapers was lower than controls.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that sleep patterns of school-aged children with enuresis who do not wear night diapers are impaired, and the sleep quality of children using night diapers is similar to those of healthy children. Thus, clinicians and healthcare providers should consider recommending sleeping with night diapers for untreated children with enuresis, based on its positive impact on sleep.

Keywords: Actigraphy; Children; Enuresis; Night diapers; Parental Behaviors; Sleep.