The Effects of the Age Initiating Toilet Training on Urinary Continence and Voiding Function in Children
Purpose To report the effects of the age initiating toilet training on urinary continence and voiding function in children. Material and Methods In three years, we enrolled 318 healthy kindergarteners. One of the parents completed the questionnaire including the age initiating and the duration of toilet training, the current status of daytime and nighttime continence, the age of attaining daytime and nighttime continence, Dysfunctional Voiding Symptom Score (10 parameters, score 0–3), and Bristol Stool Scale. All children underwent uroflowmetry and post-void residual urine (PVR) tests. Results Finally, 235 respondents (106 boys/129 girls, mean age = 4.8 ± 0.9 years) were eligible for analysis. The mean age initiating toilet training was 24.4±8.4 months. Based on the age initiating toilet training, children were classified as Early (≦18months, n=67) or Late Group (>18 months, n=168). Early Group had higher rates of daytime and nighttime continence before 30 months of age than Late Group (89.6% vs. 42.9%, p 20ml) between two Groups. Conclusions Early toilet training was associated with early attainment of both daytime and nighttime continence. The children with early toilet training had normal voiding function and a trend of lower DVSS.