Vitamin deficiencies common in children with nocturnal enuresis

Children with primary nocturnal enuresis may have vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency as well as vitamin B₁₂ deficiency, according to a study published online June 10 in Annals of Medicine.

Hoda Atef Abdelsattar Ibrahim, from Cairo University, and colleagues examined the prevalence of vitamin D and vitamin B₁₂ deficiencies in enuretic children. The analysis included 288 children seen at an outpatient clinic for nocturnal enuresis.

The researchers found that vitamin D insufficiency predominated (48.3%), while vitamin D deficiency was present in 31.3%. Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency was seen in 25% of children. There was a stronger inverse correlation between vitamin D and the number of enuresis episodes per day than vitamin B₁₂. A cutoff of 13.7 ng/mL for vitamin D was identified, below which failure to have dry nights was predicted. Protective factors for the absence of dry nights were higher vitamin D levels and behavioral treatment coexistence.

“Vitamin D insufficiency may be the most prevalent vitamin D abnormality in children with primary nocturnal enuresis. Vitamin D insufficiency may be more common in children with severe enuresis than vitamin B₁₂ deficiency,” the authors write. “This study may invite further research to examine the possible use of vitamin D and vitamin B₁₂ as potential adjuvant therapies for children with primary nocturnal enuresis.”

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