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Published on: September 20, 2024
Behavioral Problems in Indian Children with Epilepsy
Om P Mishra1, Aishvarya Upadhyay, Rajniti Prasad
1Department of Pediatrics and *Division of Biostatistics, Department of Community Medicine; Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. Correspondence to: Prof OP Mishra, Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India. opmpedia@yahoo.co.uk.
Insights
Children with epilepsy show higher behavioral problems, particularly externalizing issues. Younger age of onset, seizure frequency, and disease duration are linked to these behavioral challenges.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Child Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder in children.
- Behavioral problems are frequently observed in children with epilepsy, impacting their development and quality of life.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of behavioral problems in children diagnosed with epilepsy.
- To identify factors associated with behavioral issues in this population.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving children with epilepsy and healthy controls aged 2-14 years.
- The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was administered to parents for behavioral assessment.
- Statistical analysis correlated clinical factors with behavioral outcomes.
Main Results:
- Children with epilepsy exhibited significantly higher mean CBCL scores across most domains compared to controls.
- Externalizing problems were prevalent in younger children (2-5 years), while both internalizing and externalizing problems were common in older children (6-14 years).
- Younger age of onset, increased seizure frequency, and longer disease duration correlated significantly with behavioral problems. Antiepileptic drug polytherapy was linked to internalizing problems in older children.
Conclusions:
- Behavioral problems are more prevalent in children with epilepsy.
- Early onset, seizure frequency, and disease duration are significant predictors of behavioral issues.
- Understanding these associations can inform targeted interventions for affected children.
Objective:
To assess prevalence of behavioral problems in children with epilepsy.
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional study of children with epilepsy, and normal controls enrolled between July 2013 to June 2015. Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used as a tool to assess the behavior based on parents reported observation.
Results:
There were 60 children with epilepsy in 2-5 years and 80 in 6-14 years age groups, and 74 and 83 unaffected controls, respectively. Mean CBCL scores for most of the domains in children of both age groups were significantly higher than controls. Clinical range abnormalities were mainly detected in externalizing domain (23.3%) in 2-5 years, and in both internalizing (21.2%) and externalizing (45%) domains in children of 6-14 years. Younger age of onset, frequency of seizures and duration of disease had significant correlation with behavioral problems in both the age groups. Antiepileptic drug polytherapy was significantly associated with internalizing problems in older children.
Conclusion:
Age at onset, frequency of seizures and duration of disease were found to be significantly associated with occurrence of behavioral problems.
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