Epileptiform activity in the electroencephalogram of 6-year-old children of women with epilepsy

PURPOSE: To study the epileptiform discharges (EDs) in the electroencephalogram (EEG) of 6-8-year-old children of women with epilepsy (WWE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: All children born to women with epilepsy and prospectively followed up through the Kerala Registry of Epilepsy and Pregnancy (KREP), aged 6–8 years, were invited (n = 532). Out of the 254 children who responded, clinical evaluations and a 30-min digital 18 channel EEG were completed in 185 children. RESULTS: Of the 185 children examined, 37 (20%) children (19 males, 18 females) had ED in their EEG. The EDs were generalized in 7 children, and focal in 30 children. The EDs were present in the sleep record only of 16 (43%) children and in the awake record only of 6 (16%) children. Out of the 94 children for whom seizure history was available, 7 children (7.4%) had seizures (neonatal seizures: 4, febrile seizure: 1, and single nonfebrile seizure: 2) and none had history of epilepsy or recurrent nonfebrile seizures. The odds ratio (OR) for occurrence of ED in the EEG was significantly higher for children of WWE [OR = 3.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.3-6.0] when compared to the published data for age-matched children of mothers without epilepsy. There was no association between the occurrence of ED and the children's maternal characteristics [epilepsy syndrome, seizures during pregnancy, maternal intelligence quotient (IQ)] or the children's characteristics [antenatal exposure to specific antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), birth weight, malformations, IQ]. CONCLUSION: Children of WWE have a higher risk of epileptiform activity in their EEG when compared to healthy children in the community though none had recurrent seizures.