Psychiatric Comorbidities in Children With Epilepsy

To evaluate the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in children with epilepsy (CWE) and to assess their impact on the quality of life (QOL).

All CWE with a normal Intelligence Quotient (IQ) were assessed for psychiatric commorbidities using the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) for anxiety and depression, and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for behavioral and emotional problems. Quality of Life in Children with Epilepsy (QOLCE-31) scale was used to assess the quality of life at enrolment and was repeated again after appropriate intervention for comorbidities at 3 months.

Twenty-two (24.4%), 18 (20.0%), 35 (38.9%), 32 (35.56), 26 (28.89), and 12 (13.34) children met the clinical threshold for social phobia, major depression, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, conduct problem and peer problem, respectively. After appropriate intervention for the co-morbidities, improvement was noted in the quality of life.

Psychiatric co-morbidities are common in children with epilepsy and these contribute to the poor QOL.