Dysfunction elimination syndrome: is age at toilet training a determinant?

Purpose: To study the relationship between the age of completion of toilet training during daytime and the onset of dysfunctional elimination syndrome (DES).

Methods: The present study was designed as a case-control study. A total of 80 patients with DES were allocated to the case group and 80 patients age- and gender-matched without DES were allocated to the control group. The patients with DES were seen in a tertiary center and the control patients were seen in a primary care center. Early completion of toilet training was considered to be before 24 months.

Results: Patients were aged 3-17 years (mean: 7.55); 24 were male (30%) and 56 female (70%). The most frequent lower urinary tract symptoms were: urgency (77%), incontinence (75%), holding maneuvers (30%), high urinary frequency (61%) and low urinary frequency (16%). There was a history of urinary tract infection (UTI) in 62% of the DES group. The first UTI episode was before toilet training in 40%. The completion of toilet training was before the age of 2 years in 48% of DES patients and in 50% of the control group (p = 0.752) [odds ratio (OR) 0.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.49-1.62].

Conclusion: The completion of toilet training before 24 months of age was not associated with DES. Some patients had DES symptoms such as UTI, infrequent voiding and constipation before toilet training. These findings suggest that DES may precede toilet training and this possibility should be confirmed in further studies.