Preliminary data on monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE) in a group of children and adolescents prior to the onset of type 1 diabetes (Dt1). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We considered 88 patients with Dt1 with a mean age of 15.2 years over a period of 3 years. All patients were investigated by means of a questionnaire about the occurrence of MNE prior to the onset of Dt1. Each patient had normal urinalysis results, with no glycosuria, a normal urinary flow rate and no day-time symptoms such as urge incontinence or urgency. RESULTS: We found that 24/88 patients (27.2%) were bedwetters before the onset of Dt1. After beginning insulin treatment, 7/24 bedwetters (29.2%) kept presenting MNE. In total, 7 of the initial 88 patients (7.9%) displayed persistent features of MNE. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of MNE may overlap with symptoms of Dt1 but requires specific medical attention as a separate entity due to its possible persistence even when Dt1 has been controlled by insulin treatment.