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Incidence of febrile seizure in patients with Down syndrome
Shuichi Shimakawa1, Takuya Tanabe2, Masae Ono3
1Department of Pediatrics, Osaka Medical College, Osaka, Japan.
Insights
The incidence of febrile seizure (FS) is lower in children with Down syndrome (DS) compared to the general population. This study found a 2.5% FS incidence in DS patients, significantly less than in their healthy siblings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Genetics
- Neurology
Background:
- The incidence of febrile seizures (FS) in children with Down syndrome (DS) remains unclear.
- This study aimed to clarify the FS incidence in DS patients compared to the general population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the incidence of febrile seizures (FS) in children with Down syndrome (DS).
- To compare FS rates between DS patients and their healthy siblings.
Main Methods:
- A mailed questionnaire survey was conducted with 323 families of DS patients across multiple facilities.
- Two analyses were performed: calculating FS incidence in DS patients (ages 4-20) and comparing FS rates in DS patients versus their healthy siblings (ages 4-20).
Main Results:
- The overall incidence of FS in the studied Down syndrome population was 2.5%.
- Febrile seizures were significantly less common in DS patients compared to their healthy siblings (P < 0.003; OR, 0.14).
Conclusions:
- The incidence of febrile seizures is lower in children with Down syndrome than in the general population.
- This finding suggests a potentially protective factor against febrile seizures in individuals with Down syndrome.
Background:
It is unclear whether the incidence of febrile seizure (FS) in children with Down syndrome (DS) is higher or lower than in the general population. In this study, we investigated the incidence of FS in DS patients using mailed questionnaires.
Methods:
The questionnaires were distributed to parents or caregivers of DS patients attending Osaka Medical College Hospital and six other facilities. The questionnaires were returned by mail from February 2012 to September 2013 from 323 families of DS patients (176 male, 147 female; age range, 3 months-47 years; median age, 5.0 years). To assess the incidence of FS in DS, we performed the following two analyses: (i) we calculated the incidence of FS among DS patients between the ages of 4 and 20 years (n = 199; 113 male, 86 female), and (ii) we extracted families with both DS and healthy siblings between the ages of 4 and 20 years (n = 150; 77 male, 73 female) and compared the incidence of FS in these sibling groups.
Results:
Five DS patients had a past history of FS. The incidence of FS in DS was 2.5%. The incidence of FS was significantly lower in DS patients compared with healthy siblings (P < 0.003; OR, 0.14).
Conclusion:
The incidence of FS is lower in DS patients than in the general population.
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