Citation

Zhao PT, Velez D, Faiena I, Creenan EM, Barone JG. J. Urol. 2014; 193(5 Suppl): 1743-1748.

Affiliation

Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Rutgers - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at RWJUH, New Brunswick, NJ, USA. Electronic address: baronejg@rwjms.rutgers.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, American Urological Association, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.juro.2014.08.123

PMID

25304083

Abstract

PURPOSE: National statistics estimate that a quarter of US school children are regularly bullied, making this issue the main parental concern and leading form of school violence. No studies in the literature have examined the association of bullying with lower urinary tract symptoms. We evaluated the relationship between being bullied and LUTS in the pediatric population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We accrued 100 patients in a prospective case-control fashion from a pediatric urology practice. Their degree of LUTS was determined through the Voiding Severity Score (VSS) obtained by a single pediatric urologist. Using the Peer Relations Questionnaire and a thermometer scale, we surveyed the participants for evidence of victimization from bullying and school-related anxiety. We correlated severity of voiding symptoms with their degree of bullying.

RESULTS: After applying our exclusion criteria, data from 38 control (without LUTS) and 38 case (with LUTS) children were examined and analyzed. Mean age of both groups was similar. There were more females in the LUTS group (22 vs. 13). Mean case VSS was 3.82 (range 2-5). The degree of being bullied, measured by the Bullied Index Score, was significantly higher in the case group (4.76 vs. 1.95, p <0.001) as well as anxiety level, estimated by Thermometer Score (3.68 vs. 0.97, p <0.001). We also found physical forms of bullying to account for worsened VSS (4.56 vs. 3.67, p <0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to show that bullying is significantly associated with pediatric LUTS and that physical forms of bullying accompanied worsened symptoms.

Language: en