The influence of time of elimination communication on the prevalence of infantile daytime urination control - a survey from Mainland China

Background: Child self-administration of urination is one of the most challenging stages of development in early childhood, and it is also an important manifestation of family development in parenting. But a pilot survey shows that urination control has decreased significantly during the past decade in Mainland China.Whether it is related to delay of elimination communication (EC) is unclear.Methods A cross-sectional study in children (aged 3-10 years) was performed by distributing 10 010 anonymous self-administered questionnaires to parents in Mainland China from March to September 2017. T The questionnaires included sociodemographic data,caregivers’ information,and details about the disposable diapers (DD) usage,EC commencement date.Results A total of 8 629 ( 86.22% ) children were qualified to enter the final statistical analysis.The urinary control rates at 2 years old in children with EC starting before 12 months of age was significantly higher than those who start after 12 months of age ( 70.72 %vs 59.02 %,p<0.001),and significantly higher than those no EC ( 70.72 %vs 42.48 %,p<0.001). In addition,there was no significant difference in the rate of urinary control at 2 years old between the subgroups at different EC start times within 12 months. After 12 months, the urinary control rate at 2 years old of different subgroups decreased with the start time of EC, which were: 59.97% and 54.10%. The results of urinary control rates at several other ages (ie, 0.5 years,1 year,and 1.5 years) are similar to those at 2 years of age. There was no difference between groups of different genders. The later the beginning of EC, the lower the urination control was found . EC helps infants move quite easily into traditional toilet training when they are old enough.Conclusions Infants and young children start EC as soon as possible at the age of 3 to 12 months is conducive to the development of daytime urination control. A later onset of EC may be risk factors for urination control.