Functional urination or defecation disorders may be warning signs of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among children in rural China

This study was designed to investigate the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its association with functional urination and defecation disorders among children in rural China. A cross-sectional study was conducted with children aged 6–18 in rural schools in southwest China using a survey questionnaire. The Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Questionnaire-IV (SNAP-IV) was used to measure ADHD symptoms, and standardized questions about urination and defecation were used to measure lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and functional defecation disorders (FDDs). The association of ADHD with LUTS and FDDs was analyzed by matched logistic regression after propensity score matching was performed to minimize the influence of potential confounders, including demographic characteristics. A total of 17,279 participants were included in the analyses. The prevalence of ADHD was 2 % mainly among boys before age 12, after which it showed a decreasing trend with age, resulting in a concomitant reduction in gender differences. The risk of ADHD was positively associated with the presence of enuresis, holding maneuvers, intermittency, and encopresis, with encopresis having the strongest association (P = 0.001). The presence of holding maneuvers, intermittency, excessive volitional stool retention, and encopresis were associated with a higher risk of ADHD at 6–15 years-old, with intermittency exhibiting an increasingly positive association with ADHD risk across ages 6–15. ADHD was associated with LUTS and FDDs, which highlights that functional urination and/or defecation disorders could serve as warning signs for ADHD that should trigger screening, especially in relatively backward regions with little ADHD awareness. •Data from a sample 17,279 students (ages 6–18) in rural southwest China were analyzed.•The rate of medical visits of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was low in rural China.•Boys and girls had similar ADHD rates by 13–15 years as ADHD declined in boys.•ADHD was related to measures of functional urination and defecation disorders.•Several of these measures were related to a higher risk of ADHD at 6–15 years.