OBJECTIVETo study whether anxiety and depression are associated with the development of neurogenic urination in children.

METHODSA total of 136 9 to 12-year-old children with neurogenic urination (case group) and 136 age-matched healthy children (control group) were enrolled. The Screen for Children Anxiety Related Emotion Disorders (SCARED) and Depression Self-rating Scale for Children (DSRSC) were used to evaluate the psychological status. The incidences of anxiety and depression as well as the SCARED and DSRSC scores were compared between two groups. Logistic regression analysis model was used to evaluate the relationship between psychological status and the development of neurogenic urination.

RESULTSThe case group was found to have a higher incidence of anxiety and depression compared with the control group (P<0.01). The SCARED score in the case group (28.1 ± 8.6) increased significantly compared with 14.4 ± 4.9 in the control group (P<0.01). The DSRSC score in the case group was also significantly higher than in the control group (13.5 ± 4.8 vs 9.1 ± 3.2; P<0.01). The logistic regression analysis showed that the children with anxiety (SCARED-score>23) had a 1.224-fold increased risk for the development of neurogenic urination compared with the children with the SCARED-score≤23 and that the children with depression (DSRSC-score≥15) had a 1.148-fold increased risk for the development of this disorder.

CONCLUSIONSAnxiety and depression participate in the development of neurogenic urination in school children.