The association between onset, frequency, duration of seizure and IQ level in epileptic children

Background Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder found in all races and age groups. Epilepsy becomes a serious problem when occurs during the child's critical development period. It is known that onset, frequency, and duration of seizures are associated with IQ level. Therefore, intelligent assessment is important to determine prognostic and holistic management. Objective To determine the association between onset, frequency, duration of seizure and IQ level in epileptic children. Methods This cross sectional study was carried out at the Department of Child Health, Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia from October to December 2007. The subjects were epileptic children aged 4-16 years old being treated with valproic acid. Statistic analysis was done using logistic regression analysis, OR and RR, with 95% confidence interval. Results There were 90 subjects with epilepsy (46 males). Twenty subjects (22%) showed onset of seizures at < 18 months old; these subjects had 3.08 higher risk for having a low IQ level (score <90) compared to those with seizure onset at~ 18 months old (P=0.003). Sixty subjects (67%) had a seizure frequency of> 10 times annually; they had 1.68 higher risk of having a low IQ compared to those with seizure frequency< 10 times (P=0.430). Seven subjects (28.0%) had seizures of> 10 minutes; they had 1.17 higher risk of having a low IQ compared to those with seizures of < 10 minutes (P=0.706). Conclusion Onset of seizures at < 18 months old is significantly associated with low IQ level, while frequency and duration of seizure have no significant association with lower IQ level