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The neurologic profile of children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease
Orly Ben-Or1, Nathanel Zelnik2, Ron Shaoul3
1The Department of Pediatrics, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, Israel orlyben20@hotmail.com.
Insights
Children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) show significantly higher rates of neurological issues like headaches and ADHD compared to healthy peers. This study highlights the need for further research into IBD
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Gastroenterology
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research
Background:
- Increasing incidence of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
- Neurologic involvement in IBD is underreported in children, with limited data beyond case reports.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and types of neurologic manifestations in children with IBD.
- To compare neurologic symptoms in pediatric IBD patients versus healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 50 children diagnosed with IBD.
- Neurologic evaluation and clinical reports.
- Comparison with a control group of healthy children.
Main Results:
- 68% of pediatric IBD patients exhibited neurologic manifestations versus 23.8% in controls (P < .001).
- Common symptoms in IBD group included headache (46%), ADHD (28%), and dizziness (26%).
- Tics and sensory complaints were also more frequent in the IBD cohort (P = .036).
Conclusions:
- Pediatric inflammatory bowel disease is significantly associated with a higher prevalence of neurologic symptoms.
- Headache, ADHD, and dizziness are key neurological manifestations to monitor in children with IBD.
- Further large-scale prospective studies are warranted to confirm and elucidate this association.
Abstract:
In recent years, there has been an increasing incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in children and adolescents. Neurologic involvement has been mainly reported in adults, and information in pediatrics is based primarily on individual case reports. In this study, we explored the prevalence and spectrum of neurologic manifestations of 50 children with inflammatory bowel disease in comparison to healthy controls. Based on clinical reports and neurologic evaluation, 34 patients (68%) exhibited neurologic manifestations compared with 10 children (23.8%) in the control group (P < .001). The main symptoms associated with inflammatory bowel disease in comparison to the control subjects were headache: 46% vs 3% (P < 0.001), dizziness: 26% vs none (P < .001), hypotonia: 10% vs none (P = .06), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): 28% vs 7.1% (P < .001), tics and sensory complaints: 16% vs 2.4% (P = .036). Seizures and neuropsychiatric disorders were less characteristic. A larger-scale prospective study is required to further clarify this association.
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