Epilepsy, comorbid conditions in Canadian children: Analysis of cross-sectional data from cycle 3 of the national longitudinal study of children and youth

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze national survey data to provide estimates of prevalence of epilepsy and associated developmental disabilities and comorbid conditions. Methods: We analyzed data from Cycle 3 of Canada\u27s National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. The NLSCY captured, socio-demographic information, as well as age, sex, education, ethnicity, household income, chronic health related conditions from birth to 15 years old. The main survey question intended to identify epilepsy , cerebral palsy , intellectual disability , learning disability , and emotional and nervous difficulties in the population of children surveyed. Prevalence was based on the national cross-sectional sample and used 1000 bootstrap weights to account for survey design factors. Results: Cycle 3 of the NLSCY had the largest number of patients with diagnosed epilepsy. Prevalence figures (n/1000) for epilepsy and cerebral palsy (EPI-CP), epilepsy and intellectual disability (EPI-ID), epilepsy and learning disability (EPI-LD), and epilepsy and emotional nervous difficulties (EPI-EMO- NERV) were 1.1, 1.17, 2.58 and 1.34 respectively. Amongst children with epilepsy, 43.17% reported the presence of one or more of the above comorbid conditions. Conclusion: These results provide an initial prevalence estimate of comorbid conditions with epilepsy in Canadian children. In a high proportion of children with epilepsy, the PMK had reported at least one comorbid disorder. These findings carry implications for health care utilization and long-term outcomes. We discuss methodological aspects related to the ascertainment of epilepsy in both surveys, and to the validity and implications of our findings