Comparing Mental Health of School-Age Children with and without Epilepsy

OBJECTIVE: Mental health problems frequently occur in children with epilepsy but the diagnosis is frequently missed and therapeutic opportunities are often lost. The aim of this study was to compare mental health statues between school-aged children with epilepsy and the healthy group. MATERIALS & METHODS: In this case, control study, 120 children aged 6 to 12 years with idiopathic epilepsy and 240 healthy control groups were followed up. Children with epilepsy were enrolled from Iranian Epilepsy Association in 2014. The parent version of Child Symptom Inventory-4 questionnaire was used. Mean comparisons were performed using Student’s t test while effect sizes were estimated by Cohen’s d coefficient. The Chi-Square test was used to assess the difference between frequency distribution of demographic variables in both groups. The significance level was considered less than 0.05. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences between children with epilepsy and control group as for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depression, separation anxiety, social phobia, motor and vocal tics and oppositional defiant disorder. CONCLUSION: The carefully evaluating and prospectively following the psychopathology symptom of children with epilepsy are critical for early identification, prevention and treatment.