Journal Name:
- Indian Journal of Basic & Applied Medical Research
Key Words:
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Abstract (2. Language):
Objective: Epilepsy is the commonest neurological disorder of childhood and 1 in 5 epileptic has a behavioural
disorder
Participants: After IRB clearance,100 consecutive, aged 4-12 years childrenwith a history of epilepsy of at
least one year duration were enrolled as cases and 100 controls.A baseline IQ test was performed .
Intervention: All the participants were administered an SDQ (Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire), available
in Hindi, that records competencies of children in five domains such as emotional issues(fear, nervousness),
behavioral issues (hyperactivity), prosocial tendencies, conduct problems (tantrums, lying, stealing) and
problems in peer relationships. The datawas analysed using the chi – square test also age, sexadjustedlogistic
regression multivariate analysis for outcome variables such as conduct disorders, hyperactivity and no specific
complaints was done.
Results: The mean (SD) ages of the cases and controls were 9.05 (1.99) and 8.65 (2/05) years respectively
(p=0.17). A higher proportion of cases had conduct disorders and hyperactivity compared with controls (conduct
disorders: 16% vs 6%, p=0.02 and hyperactivity: 16% vs 6%, p=0.02).Four epileptic children were school
dropouts. With logistic regression multivariate analysis cases were significantly more likely to have conduct
disorders(OR: 3.11, 95% [CI]: 1.15-8.39) and hyperactivity(OR: 3.35, 95% CI: 1.22-9.19)compared with
controls.
Discussion: Neurobehavioral comorbidity of epilepsy is now accepted as a major cause of potentially treated
disability.In our study epileptic children had significantly higher externalizing behavior problems such as
conduct disorders and hyperactivity compared with healthy siblings.
Conclusions: Neurobehavioral disorders are significant comorbid conditions seen in epileptics which cannot be
ignored ;these require timely assessment and intervention for a holistic qualitative outcome.
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