Relation of Iron and Zinc Deficiencies to the Occurrence of Febrile Convulsions

CONTEXT: Febrile convulsion is one of the most important types of convulsions in children. Iron and zinc are important trace elements that affect some enzymes in central nervous system, and their deficiencies could disturb the inhibitory mechanisms in the brain, thus producing convulsions. AIM: To evaluate the relation between iron deficiency, zinc deficiency, and febrile convulsions. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was carried out. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study included 100 children of the pediatric hospital in Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt; 50 children with febrile convulsions as the study group and 50 febrile children without convulsions as the control group. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 20, was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The mean value of hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration iron, and ferritin were significantly lower in cases than that in the control group. Significantly, zinc level was lower in 68% of cases and 36% of control children. Moreover, the mean value of zinc was significantly lower in cases than that in the control group. CONCLUSION: Lower levels of iron and zinc seem to be predisposing factors for developing febrile convulsions.