FRIDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- Children with epilepsy are
at increased risk for psychiatric symptoms and gender may play a
role in the types of psychiatric problems they develop, a new study
has found.
Researchers analyzed data from 14,699 Norwegian children, aged 8
to 13, and found that 111 children (0.8 percent) had epilepsy. The
children with the seizure disorder had a much higher rate of
psychiatric symptoms (38 percent) than healthy children (17
percent).
In general, boys were at higher risk of psychiatric symptoms
than girls, not only among children with epilepsy, but also among
those without the disorder, according to the report published
online March 25 in the journal
Epilepsia.
However, while previous research has found that children with
epilepsy are at greater risk than other children for anxiety,
depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, the new
study found that there were differences in the types of psychiatric
problems boys and girls developed. For example, boys had more
hyperactivity, inattention problems and peer-relationship issues,
while girls had more emotional problems, the study authors
noted.
In addition to epilepsy, other risk factors for psychiatric
symptoms in children included low socioeconomic status and having
another chronic disease. But the influence of these risk factors
differed between boys and girls with epilepsy, the researchers
pointed out.
Among girls, having or having had epilepsy was a much stronger
risk factor for psychiatric problems. Among boys, low socioeconomic
status was almost as strong a risk factor as having epilepsy. The
reasons for these differences aren't clear, but a previous study
found that girls with epilepsy have a more negative attitude about
the disorder than boys with epilepsy.
"Multiple risk factors contribute to the high prevalence of psychiatric symptoms, differently in boys and girls, it seems," lead study author Dr. Kristen Alfstad, of the National Centre for Epilepsy at Oslo University Hospital in Norway, said in a journal news release. "Identifying high-risk groups may help clinicians who can implement interventions that prevent more serious psychiatric problems."
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
has more about
epilepsy.