Psychiatric Manifestations and Risk Factors in Children with Seizure Disorders

Wang, Hee Ryung; Yoo, Hanik K; Yum, Mi Sun; Ko, Tae Sung

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study was aimed to investigate the psychiatric manifestations in children with epilepsy and the associations with seizure-related variables.
METHODS
The Korean version of the Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL) and the ADHD Rating Scale (K-ARS) were used to assess the psychopathology of 78 children with epilepsy (39 boys, mean age: 9.8+/-3.26 years-old) and 78 healthy comparisons matched for age and sex.
RESULTS
Compared with healthy comparisons, children with epilepsy showed differences in the social, school, total competence scale, withdrawn, somatic complaints, social problems, thought, attention problems, aggressive behavior, internalizing and externalizing problem, and total behavior problem scores in the K-CBCL. Significant differences in the social, school, total competence scale, withdrawn, social problems, attention, and total behavior problem scales were found between groups in clinical spectrum and nonclinical spectrum. The inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive, and total scores of the K-ARS between groups were significantly different. In addition, the total scores of the K-ARS between subjects in clinical spectrum and nonclinical spectrum were different. The more the number of antiepileptic drugs, the higher significance of the score for aggressive behavior, sex problem, somatic complaints in the K-CBCL, and the inattentive scales in the K-ARS. In addition, the withdrawn, anxious/depressed and somatic complaints in the K-CBCL were correlated with sex, onset age and seizure type, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Children with epilepsy may experience more various and serious psychiatric problems than healthy children. Responsiveness to antiepileptic drugs and seizure itself can be risk factors of psychiatric manifestations in epileptic children.