Epilepsy-related clinical factors and psychosocial functions in pediatric epilepsy

The aim of this study was to identify the different influencing patterns of demographic and epilepsy-related variables on various aspects of psychosocial function in pediatric epilepsy.

Five hundred ninety-eight patients with pediatric epilepsy between the ages of 4 and 18 years (boys=360, 60% and girls=238, 40%) and their parents participated in the study. Parents completed the Social Maturity Scale (SMS), the Korean version of the Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL), and the Korean version of the Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire (K-QOLCE) to assess daily living function, behavior, and quality of life. The Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) was completed by clinicians to assess general adaptive function. Demographic variables, such as age and sex of child, and epilepsy-related clinical variables, including seizure type, seizure frequency, duration of epilepsy, and number of medications, were obtained from medical records.

Demographic and epilepsy-related clinical variables had a strong influence (22-32%) on the cognition-related domain such as general adaptive function, school/total competence, and quality of life for cognitive function while a comparatively smaller effect (2-16%) on the more psychological domain including behavioral, emotional, and social variables. Younger age, shorter duration of illness, and smaller number of medications showed a strong positive impact on psychosocial function in pediatric epilepsy, particularly for adaptive function, competence, and quality-of-life aspects.

Given the wide range of impact of demographic and clinical variables on various facets of psychosocial functions, more specific understanding of the various aspects of factors and their particular pattern of influence may enable more effective therapeutic approaches that address both the medical and psychological needs in pediatric epilepsy.