Prevalence of psychiatric and behavioral comorbidities in pediatric epilepsy

Background Epilepsy is among the most common neurological disorder in childhood for which there is substantial evidence of the associated psychopathology. Objective To assess the prevalence of behavioral problems in children with epilepsy and its risk factors. Patients and methods Fifty patients aged 5–16 years with a diagnosis of epilepsy and 50 control children of the same age range were recruited. A validated Arabic version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents in addition to the Child Behavior Check List was applied to evaluate the sample. Results By using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents, it was found that both conduct disorder and anxiety show a statistically significant difference between the epileptic and control groups. According to Child Behavior Check List, it was found that the epileptic group had clinically attention problems, rule-breaking behavior, aggressive behavior, and social problems compared with the nonepileptic group. Regarding the mean values, behavioral scores in patients with epilepsy were significantly higher as compared with control in all the domains, except rule-breaking complaints and thought problems. Some factors were significantly associated with neuropsychiatric comorbidities in children with epilepsy as seizure duration more than or equal to 5 years, polytherapy, and uncontrolled seizure-status epilepsy type (primary generalized epilepsy). Conclusion Children with epilepsy are more likely to develop neuropsychiatric problems. Early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of neuropsychiatric comorbidities may enhance their long-term prognosis.