Bedwetting Found in One in Fourteen Children and Teens Worldwide

A Hidden Struggle Under the Covers

Molalign Aligaz Adisu and colleagues from the University of Woldia have peeled back the sheets on a global issue: one in every fourteen children and teens wrestles with bedwetting, or nocturnal enuresis. Their findings stem from a meticulous systematic review and meta-analysis, pulling together 128 studies from databases like PubMed Central, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Google Scholar. With over 445,000 participants aged 5 to 18 across 39 countries, the team vetted the data for quality, consistency, bias, and sensitivity. Their work now graces the pages of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health.

The numbers tell a clear story: 7.2 percent of kids and teens worldwide face this nighttime challenge. Certain threads weave through those most at risk—a family history of enuresis, urinary tract infections, the loss of a parent, and being male tip the odds higher. On the flip side, being the firstborn in a family seems to offer a small shield against it.

This isn’t just a statistic—it’s a window into a quiet struggle, spotlighting factors that shape young lives one restless night at a time.